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First published online September 25, 2009
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/dev.036087

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Sonic hedgehog-dependent synthesis of laminin 1 controls basement membrane assembly in the myotome

¹ Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
² Departamento de Biologia Animal and Centro de Biologia Ambiental, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.

^* Author for correspondence (a.g.borycki{at}sheffield.ac.uk)

Accepted 17 August 2009

Basement membranes have essential structural and signalling roles in tissue morphogenesis during embryonic development, but the mechanisms that control their formation are still poorly understood. Laminins are key components of basement membranes and are thought to be essential for initiation of basement membrane assembly. Here, we report that muscle progenitor cells populating the myotome migrate aberrantly in the ventral somite in the absence of sonic hedgehog (Shh) signalling, and we show that this defect is due to the failure to form a myotomal basement membrane. We reveal that expression of Lama1, which encodes laminin 1, a subunit of laminin-111, is not activated in Shh^-/- embryos. Recovery of Lama1 expression or addition of exogenous laminin-111 to Shh^-/-;Gli3^-/- embryos restores the myotomal basement membrane, demonstrating that laminin-111 is necessary and sufficient to initiate assembly of the myotomal basement membrane. This study uncovers an essential role for Shh signalling in the control of laminin-111 synthesis and in the initiation of basement membrane assembly in the myotome. Furthermore, our data indicate that laminin-111 function cannot be compensated by laminin-511.

Key words: Laminin, Myf5, Sonic hedgehog, Basement membrane, Myogenesis, Myotome, Mouse

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				C. Anderson, S. Thorsteinsdottir, and A.-G. Borycki Sonic hedgehog-dependent synthesis of laminin 1 controls basement membrane assembly in the myotome J. Cell Sci., October 15, 2009; 122(20): e2006 - e2006. [Full Text]