Left–right asymmetric expression of the TGFβ-family member lefty in mouse embryos
- 1 May 1996
- journal article
- letter
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature
- Vol. 381 (6578), 151-155
- https://doi.org/10.1038/381151a0
Abstract
EXAMPLES of lateral asymmetry are often found in vertebrates, such as the heart being on the left side, but the molecular mechanism governing the establishment of this left–right (L–R) handedness is unknown1. A diffusible morphogen may determine L–R polarity2, but a likely molecule has not so far been identified. Here we report on the gene lefty, a member of the transforming growth factor-β family, which may encode a morphogen for L–R determination. Lefty protein contains the cysteine-knot motif3 characteristic of this superfamily4,5 and is secreted as a processed form of relative molecular mass 25K–32K. Surprisingly, lefty is expressed in the left half of gastrulating mouse embryos. This asymmetric expression is very transient and occurs just before the first sign of lateral asymmetry appears. In the mouse mutants iv and inv, which cause situs inversus, the sites of lefty expression are inverted, indicating that lefty is downstream of iv and inv. These results suggest that lefty may be involved in setting up L–R asymmetry in the organ systems of mammals.This publication has 14 references indexed in Scilit:
- The TGF-beta superfamily: new members, new receptors, and new genetic tests of function in different organisms.Genes & Development, 1994
- Growth factors in development: the role of TGF-β related polypeptide signalling molecules in embryogenesisDevelopment, 1994
- Production of high-titer helper-free retroviruses by transient transfection.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1993
- A structural superfamily of growth factors containing a cystine knot motifCell, 1993
- On the other handNature, 1993
- Reversal of Left-Right Asymmetry: a Situs Inversus MutationScience, 1993
- Linkage mapping of a mouse gene, iv, that controls left-right asymmetry of the heart and viscera.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1989
- Isolation of male embryonal carcinoma cells and their chromosome replication patternsDevelopmental Biology, 1982
- Random determination of a developmental process: Reversal of normal visceral asymmetry in the mouseJournal of Heredity, 1976
- VISCERAL INVERSION AND ASSOCIATED ANOMALIES IN THE MOUSEJournal of Heredity, 1959