The fully linked HTML version of this article has now been published.
Development ePress online publication date 8 Dec 2005
doi: 10.1242/dev.02192
Research article
GDF3, a BMP inhibitor, regulates cell fate in stem cells and early embryos
Ariel J. Levine
and
Ali H. Brivanlou*
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: brvnlou{at}rockefeller.edu)
The TGF
superfamily of ligands plays key functions in development and disease. In both human and mouse embryonic stem cells, a member of this family, GDF3, is specifically expressed in the pluripotent state. We show that GDF3 is an inhibitor of its own subfamily, blocks classic BMP signaling in multiple contexts, interacts with BMP proteins and is expressed specifically in the node during gastrulation in a pattern consistent with BMP inhibition. Furthermore, we use gain- and reduction-of-function to show that in a species-specific manner, GDF3 regulates both of the two major characteristics of embryonic stem cells: the ability to maintain the undifferentiated state and the ability to differentiate into the full spectrum of cell types.
This article has been cited by other articles:

|
 |

|
 |
 
W.-L. Tam, C. Y. Lim, J. Han, J. Zhang, Y.-S. Ang, H.-H. Ng, H. Yang, and B. Lim
T-Cell Factor 3 Regulates Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency and Self-Renewal by the Transcriptional Control of Multiple Lineage Pathways
Stem Cells,
August 1, 2008;
26(8):
2019 - 2031.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
M. M. Shen
Nodal signaling: developmental roles and regulation
Development,
March 15, 2007;
134(6):
1023 - 1034.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
A. B. Steiner, M. J. Engleka, Q. Lu, E. C. Piwarzyk, S. Yaklichkin, J. L. Lefebvre, J. W. Walters, L. Pineda-Salgado, P. A. Labosky, and D. S. Kessler
FoxD3 regulation of Nodal in the Spemann organizer is essential for Xenopus dorsal mesoderm development
Development,
December 15, 2006;
133(24):
4827 - 4838.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
J. A. Byrne, S. M. Mitalipov, L. Clepper, and D. P. Wolf
Transcriptional Profiling of Rhesus Monkey Embryonic Stem Cells
Biol Reprod,
December 1, 2006;
75(6):
908 - 915.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|

|
 |

|
 |
 
D. Mesnard, M. Guzman-Ayala, and D. B. Constam
Nodal specifies embryonic visceral endoderm and sustains pluripotent cells in the epiblast before overt axial patterning
Development,
July 1, 2006;
133(13):
2497 - 2505.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
 |
|
© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2005