First published online September 1, 2004
Development 131, 1804e (2004)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
HOXA13 and BMPs link limbs
Although many of the genes involved in limb development have been
identified, little is known about their transcriptional regulation. On
p. 4581, Knosp and
co-workers report that HOXA13, a transcription factor whose absence causes
developmental defects in mammalian digits and interdigital tissue, controls
distal limb morphogenesis by directly regulating the expression of bone
morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) 2 and 7. The researchers show first that
Bmp2, Bmp7 and Hoxa13 are co-expressed during normal mouse
limb development, and that absence of functional HOXA13 reduces Bmp2
and Bmp7 expression in the affected limb tissues. Then, they identify
and characterise enhancer regions in Bmp2 and Bmp7 that
interact with the HOXA13 DNA-binding domain in vitro and in vivo. Finally,
they show that exogenously applied BMP2 or BMP7 partly rescues the
Hoxa13 mutant limb phenotype. These results thus identify an
important mechanistic link between two well-characterised families of
developmental factors.
Related articles in Development:
- HOXA13 regulates the expression of bone morphogenetic proteins 2 and 7 to control distal limb morphogenesis
- Wendy M. Knosp, Virginia Scott, Hans Peter Bächinger, and H. Scott Stadler
Development 2004 131: 4581-4592.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
