期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1992
卷号：89
期号：21
页码：10237-10241
DOI：10.1073/pnas.89.21.10237
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：We have been interested in the possible involvement of the gene Quox-8, a member of the Hox-7/msh family of homeobox-containing genes in the patterning of the neural tube and the somitic-derived mesoderm. We demonstrate that in the embryonic day 2-6 avian embryo, the expression of Quox-8 in the roof plate depends upon (i) the normal dorsoventral orientation of the neural primordium and (ii) interactions between the dorsal neural tube and the superficial ectoderm. We also show that Quox-8 is expressed in the dorsal mesenchyme located between the neural tube and the superficial ectoderm that yields the spinous processes of the vertebrae. Experimental inhibition of Quox-8 expression in these areas of the dorsal mesenchyme results in the failure of its differentiation into vertebral cartilage. We conclude, therefore, that this gene is involved in the patterning of vertebral structures through a cascade of tissue interactions primarily occurring between the dorsal neural tube and the overlying ectoderm.
