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First published online September 9, 2004

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Spleens to the left

Early vertebrate embryos are bilaterally symmetrical but mature internal organs show consistent left-right (LR) asymmetry. The establishment of LR positional information has been well studied, but how the organ primordia interpret this information during asymmetric morphogenesis is unclear. Hecksher-Sørensen and colleagues identify a specialised columnar epithelium – the splanchnic mesodermal plate (SMP) – as the organiser for the leftward growth of the spleno-pancreatic region under the control of the LR asymmetry pathway in mice (see p. 4665). They report that the asplenic mutant dominant hemimelia (Dh) lacks the SMP, an initially bilateral structure surrounding the gut endoderm. Another asplenic mutant carrying a Bapx1-targeted disruption has a defective SMP, indicating that Bapx1 regulates the SMP functions that are required for spleno-pancreatic laterality. Given that the Bapx1 and Dh mutants have normal hearts, lungs and livers, the researchers suggest that LR positional information is interpreted differently by each organ primordia.

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The splanchnic mesodermal plate directs spleen and pancreatic laterality, and is regulated by Bapx1/Nkx3.2

Jacob Hecksher-Sørensen, Robert P. Watson, Laura A. Lettice, Palle Serup, Lorraine Eley, Carlo De Angelis, Ulf Ahlgren, and Robert E. Hill
Development 2004 131: 4665-4675. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?