How head patterning is regulated in vertebrates yet to be understood. In this study, we show that frog embryos injected with Noggin at different blastula and gastrula stages had their development sequentially arrested positions. When timed BMP inhibition was applied BMP-overexpressing embryos, the expression of five genes: xcg-1 (a marker cement gland, which front-most structure embryo), six3 f...

Gene regulatory networks controlling functional activities of spatially and temporally distinct endodermal cell populations in the early mouse embryo remain ill defined. The T-box transcription factor Eomes, acting downstream from Nodal/Smad signals, directly activates the LIM domain homeobox transcription factor Lhx1 in the visceral endoderm. Here we demonstrate Smad4/Eomes-dependent Lhx1 expr...

Insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying neural development in vertebrates come from the cloning and the functional analysis of genes which are involved in the molecular pathways leading to neural induction, tissue specification and regionalization of the brain. Among them, transcription factors belonging to the orthodenticle family (Otx1, Otx2) play an important role during early and ...

Many neuropsychiatric symptoms that follow traumatic brain injury (TBI), including mood disorders, sleep disturbance, chronic pain, and posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) are attributable to compromised cortical inhibition. However, the temporal trajectory of cortical inhibition loss and its underlying mechanisms are not known. Using paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (ppTMS) and immunohi...

The thalamic complex is the major sensory relay station in the vertebrate brain and comprises three developmental subregions: the prethalamus, the thalamus and an intervening boundary region - the zona limitans intrathalamica (ZLI). Shh signalling from the ZLI confers regional identity of the flanking subregions of the ZLI, making it an important local signalling centre for regional differentia...

INTRODUCTION The embryonic development of the vertebrate Central Nervous System (CNS) requires the induction of transcription factors regulating the expression of specific subsets of genes in restricted CNS regions. Among these transcription factors, homeobox-containing proteins play a crucial role, and altered expression of these factors can impact the embryonic as well as adult CNS functions....

Redirecting differentiation of somatic cells by over-expression of transcription factors is a promising approach for regenerative medicine, elucidation of pathogenesis and development of new therapies. We have previously defined a transcription factor combination, that is, CRX, RAX and NEUROD, that can generate photosensitive photoreceptor cells from human iris cells. Here, we show that human d...

Understanding the molecular mechanism controlling induction and maintenance of signals required for specifying anterior territory (forebrain and midbrain) of the central nervous system is a major task of molecular embryology. The current view indicates that in mouse, early specification of the anterior patterning is established at the beginning of gastrulation by the anterior visceral endoderm,...