First published online August 18, 2003
Development 130, e1905 (2003)
Copyright © 2003 The Company of Biologists Limited
Why some mice have white belts
The study of white-spotting mouse mutations, which create distinct pigment
patterns by affecting the maturation and survival of the neural crest-derived
melanoblasts, has helped to elucidate the developmental mechanisms required
for lineage determination, migration and proliferation. On
p. 4665, Rao et al.
reveal that Adamts20, a novel member of the ADAMTS family of secreted
metalloproteinases, is mutated in belted (bt) mutant mice. These
mutants are normally pigmented apart from a 'white belt' of hair that occurs
near their hindlimbs. The researchers show that Adamts20 is not
expressed by the neural crest-derived melanoblasts but by the mesenchymal
tissue through which these cells migrate. The extensive homology between
Adamts20 and GON-1, an ADAMTS family member protease that is
required for distal tip cell migration in C. elegans, indicates that
the role of secreted metalloproteinases in cell migration has been conserved
during evolution.
Related articles in Development:
- A defect in a novel ADAMTS family member is the cause of the belted white-spotting mutation
- Cherie Rao, Dorothee Foernzler, Stacie K. Loftus, Shanming Liu, John D. McPherson, Katherine A. Jungers, Suneel S. Apte, William J. Pavan, and David R. Beier
Development 2003 130: 4665-4672.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]