QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online 25 August 2004
doi: 10.1242/dev.01364

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: dev.01364v1 131/19/4665    most recent 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 Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hecksher-Sørensen, J. Articles by Hill, R. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hecksher-Sørensen, J. Articles by Hill, R. E.

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

Jacob Hecksher-Sørensen^1,*,, Robert P. Watson^1,*, Laura A. Lettice¹, Palle Serup², Lorraine Eley³, Carlo De Angelis¹, Ulf Ahlgren^1, and Robert E. Hill^1,

¹ Comparative and Developmental Genetics Section, MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
² Department of Developmental Biology, Hagedorn Research Institute, Niels Steensens Vej 6, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark
³ The Institute of Human Genetics, The International Centre for Life, Central Parkway, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3BZ, UK

Author for correspondence (e-mail: bob.hill{at}hgu.mrc.ac.uk)

Accepted 19 July 2004

The mechanism by which left-right (LR) information is interpreted by organ primordia during asymmetric morphogenesis is largely unknown. We show that spleen and pancreatic laterality is dependent on a specialised, columnar mesodermal-derived cell layer referred to here as the splanchnic mesodermal plate (SMP). At early embryonic stages, the SMP is bilateral, surrounding the midline-located stomach and dorsal pancreatic bud. Under control of the LR asymmetry pathway, the left SMP is maintained and grows laterally. Mice carrying the dominant hemimelia (Dh) mutation lack the SMP. Significantly, the mice are asplenic and the pancreas remains positioned along the embryonic midline. In the absence of Fgf10 expression, the spleno-pancreatic mesenchyme and surrounding SMP grow laterally but contain no endodermal component, showing that leftward growth is autonomous and independent of endoderm. In the Bapx1^–/– mutants, the SMP is defective. Normally, the SMP is a source for both Fgf9 and Fgf10; however, in the Bapx1 mutant, Fgf10 expression is downregulated and the dorsal pancreas remains at the midline. We conclude that the SMP is an organiser responsible for the leftward growth of the spleno-pancreatic region and that Bapx1 regulates SMP functions required for pancreatic laterality.

Key words: LR asymmetry, Bapx1, Pancreas, Spleen, SMP, Fgf regulation, Mouse

Related articles in Development:

Spleens to the left

Development 2004 131: e1901. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B.-M. Kim, I. Miletich, J. Mao, A. P. McMahon, P. A. Sharpe, and R. A. Shivdasani Independent functions and mechanisms for homeobox gene Barx1 in patterning mouse stomach and spleen Development, October 15, 2007; 134(20): 3603 - 3613. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Asayesh, J. Sharpe, R. P. Watson, J. Hecksher-Sorensen, N. D. Hastie, R. E. Hill, and U. Ahlgren Spleen versus pancreas: strict control of organ interrelationship revealed by analyses of Bapx1-/- mice. Genes & Dev., August 15, 2006; 20(16): 2208 - 2213. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Shiratori and H. Hamada The left-right axis in the mouse: from origin to morphology Development, June 1, 2006; 133(11): 2095 - 2104. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Brendolan, E. Ferretti, V. Salsi, K. Moses, S. Quaggin, F. Blasi, M. L. Cleary, and L. Selleri A Pbx1-dependent genetic and transcriptional network regulates spleen ontogeny Development, July 1, 2005; 132(13): 3113 - 3126. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]