Temporal and spatial expression of TGF-?2 in chicken somites during early embryonic development

✍ Scribed by Aramaki, Shinya ;Sato, Fuminori ;Soh, Tomoki ;Yamauchi, Nobuhiko ;Sakai, Takafumi ;Hattori, Masa-Aki

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 293 KB
• Volume: 303A
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1548-8969
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.a.148

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A multifunctional growth and differentiation factor TGF‐β is expressed at various developmental stages, and its principle role may be involvement in organogenesis. The present study was performed to evaluate the temporal and spatial expression of TGF‐β2 mRNA in developing somites of chicken embryos during their early developmental periods. TGF‐βs were expressed in various tissues of the whole embryo obtained at stage 26 (5 days of incubation) as revealed by whole‐mount in situ hybridization. TGF‐β2 mRNA was predominantly expressed in somites as well as the head, branchial arch, wing buds, and leg buds. TGF‐β2 mRNA first appeared in the rostral somites on E4, and its expression sites expanded to the middle range of somites at stage 26. At stages 29–31 (6–7 days), expression in the rostral somites disappeared, and it appeared in the caudal somites. TGF‐β2 expression was also analyzed in sections of the embryo by in situ hybridization. The expression sites of TGF‐β2 were clearly observed in the myotomal somite tips as well as the neural tube. RT‐PCR analysis showed that TGF‐β2 expression was very low in the blastocyte stage embryo and thereafter increased linearly in the whole trunk until stage 26. These data indicate that TGF‐β2 may be a regulatory factor participating in the somitogenesis of chicken embryos. J. Exp. Zool. 303A:323–330, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.