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TBX5 (gene)
T-box transcription factor TBX5, (T-box protein 5) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TBX5'' gene. This gene is a member of a phylogenetically conserved family of genes that share a common DNA-binding domain, the T-box. T-box genes encode transcription factors involved in the regulation of developmental processes. This gene is closely linked to related family member T-box 3 (ulnar mammary syndrome) on human chromosome 12. ''TBX5'' is located on the long arm of chromosome 12. ''TBX5'' produces a protein called T-box protein 5 that acts as a transcription factor. ''TBX5'' is involved with forelimb and heart development. This gene impacts the early development of the forelimb by triggering fibroblast growth factor, FGF10. Function ''TBX5'' is involved with the development of the four heart chambers, the electrical conducting system, and the septum separating the right and left sides of the heart. ''TBX5'' is a transcription factor that codes for the protein called ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity. A linear chain of amino acid residues is called a polypeptide. A protein contains at least one long polypeptide. Short polypeptides, containing less than 20–30 residues, are rarely considered to be proteins and are commonly called peptides. The individual amino acid residues are bonded together by peptide bonds and adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hox Genes
Hox genes, a subset of homeobox genes, are a group of related genes that specify regions of the body plan of an embryo along the head-tail axis of animals. Hox proteins encode and specify the characteristics of 'position', ensuring that the correct structures form in the correct places of the body. For example, Hox genes in insects specify which appendages form on a segment (for example, legs, antennae, and wings in fruit flies), and Hox genes in vertebrates specify the types and shape of vertebrae that will form. In segmented animals, Hox proteins thus confer segmental or positional identity, but do not form the actual segments themselves. Studies on Hox genes in ciliated larvae have shown they are only expressed in future adult tissues. In larvae with gradual metamorphosis the Hox genes are activated in tissues of the larval body, generally in the trunk region, that will be maintained through metamorphosis. In larvae with complete metamorphosis the Hox genes are mainly expres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NKX2-5
Homeobox protein Nkx-2.5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''NKX2-5'' gene. Function Homeobox-containing genes play critical roles in regulating tissue-specific gene expression essential for tissue differentiation, as well as determining the temporal and spatial patterns of development (Shiojima et al., 1995). It has been demonstrated that a ''Drosophila'' homeobox-containing gene called 'tinman' is expressed in the developing dorsal vessel and in the equivalent of the vertebrate heart. Mutations in tinman result in loss of heart formation in the embryo, suggesting that tinman is essential for ''Drosophila'' heart formation. Furthermore, abundant expression of Csx, the presumptive mouse homolog of tinman, is observed only in the heart from the time of cardiac differentiation. CSX, the human homolog of murine Csx, has a homeodomain sequence identical to that of Csx and is expressed only in the heart, again suggesting that CSX plays an important role in human heart fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GATA4
Transcription factor GATA-4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''GATA4'' gene. Function This gene encodes a member of the GATA family of zinc finger transcription factors. Members of this family recognize the GATA motif which is present in the promoters of many genes. This protein is thought to regulate genes involved in embryogenesis and in myocardial differentiation and function. Mutations in this gene have been associated with cardiac septal defects as well as reproductive defects. GATA4 is a critical transcription factor for proper mammalian cardiac development and essential for survival of the embryo. GATA4 works in combination with other essential cardiac transcription factors as well, such as Nkx2-5 and Tbx5. GATA4 is expressed in both embryo and adult cardiomyocytes where it functions as a transcriptional regulator for many cardiac genes, and also regulates hypertrophic growth of the heart. GATA4 promotes cardiac morphogenesis, cardiomyocytes survival, and m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetra-amelia Syndrome
Tetra-amelia syndrome (''tetra-'' + '' amelia''), also called autosomal recessive tetraamelia, is an extremely rare autosomal recessive congenital disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. Other areas of the body are also affected by malformations, such as the face, skull, reproductive organs, anus, lungs and pelvis. The disorder can be caused by recessive mutations in the WNT3 or RSPO2 genes. Presentation Tetra-amelia syndrome is characterized by the complete absence of all four limbs. The syndrome causes severe malformations of various parts of the body, including the face and head, heart, nervous system, skeleton, and genitalia. In many cases, the lungs are underdeveloped, which makes breathing difficult or impossible. Because children with tetra-amelia syndrome have such serious medical problems, most are stillborn or die shortly after birth. Cause RSPO2 and WNT3 genes Researchers have found loss-of-function mutations in the WNT3 or the RSPO2 genes in peo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tbx4
T-box refers to a group of transcription factors involved in embryonic limb and heart development. Every T-box protein has a relatively large DNA-binding domain, generally comprising about a third of the entire protein that is both necessary and sufficient for sequence-specific DNA binding. All members of the T-box gene family bind to the "T-box", a DNA consensus sequence of TCACACCT. Members T-boxes are especially important to the development of embryos, found in zebrafish oocyte by Bruce et al 2003 and ''Xenopus laevis'' oocyte by Xanthos et al 2001. They are also expressed in later stages, including adult mouse and rabbit studied by Szabo et al 2000. Mutations in the first one found caused short tails in mice, and thus the protein encoded was named brachyury, Greek for "short-tail". In mice this gene is named ''Tbxt'', and in humans it is named ''TBXT''. Brachyury has been found in all bilaterian animals that have been screened, and is also present in the cnidaria. The m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zone Of Polarizing Activity
The zone of polarizing activity (ZPA) is an area of mesenchyme that contains signals which instruct the developing limb bud to form along the anterior/posterior axis. Limb bud is undifferentiated mesenchyme enclosed by an ectoderm covering. Eventually, the limb bud develops into bones, tendons, muscles and joints. Limb bud development relies not only on the ZPA, but also many different genes, signals, and a unique region of ectoderm called the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). Research by Saunders and Gasseling in 1948 identified the AER and its subsequent involvement in proximal distal outgrowth. Twenty years later, the same group did transplantation studies in chick limb bud and identified the ZPA. It wasn't until 1993 that Todt and Fallon showed that the AER and ZPA are dependent on each other. Patterning Patterning along the limb bud requires signals from many sources. Specifically, proteins called transcription factors (TF) help control the rate at which a gene is transcrib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apical Ectodermal Ridge
The apical ectodermal ridge (AER) is a structure that forms from the ectodermal cells at the distal end of each limb bud and acts as a major signaling center to ensure proper development of a limb. After the limb bud induces AER formation, the AER and limb mesenchyme—including the zone of polarizing activity (ZPA)—continue to communicate with each other to direct further limb development. The position of the limb bud, and hence the AER, is specified by the expression boundaries of Hox genes in the embryonic trunk. At these positions, the induction of cell outgrowth is thought to be mediated by a positive feedback loop of fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) between the intermediate mesoderm, the lateral plate mesoderm and the surface ectoderm. FGF8 in the intermediate mesoderm signals to the lateral mesoderm, restricting the expression of FGF10 through intermediate Wnt signals. Then, FGF10 in the lateral plate mesoderm signals to the surface ectoderm to create the AER, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fibroblast Growth Factor
Fibroblast growth factors (FGF) are a family of cell signalling proteins produced by macrophages; they are involved in a wide variety of processes, most notably as crucial elements for normal development in animal cells. Any irregularities in their function lead to a range of developmental defects. These growth factors typically act as systemic or locally circulating molecules of extracellular origin that activate cell surface receptors. A defining property of FGFs is that they bind to heparin and to heparan sulfate. Thus, some are sequestered in the extracellular matrix of tissues that contains heparan sulfate proteoglycans and are released locally upon injury or tissue remodeling. Families In humans, 23 members of the FGF family have been identified, all of which are ''structurally'' related signaling molecules: * Members FGF1 through FGF10 all bind fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs). FGF1 is also known as ''acidic fibroblast growth factor'', and FGF2 is also known as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wnt Signaling Pathway
The Wnt signaling pathways are a group of signal transduction pathways which begin with proteins that pass signals into a cell through cell surface receptors. The name Wnt is a portmanteau created from the names Wingless and Int-1. Wnt signaling pathways use either nearby cell-cell communication (paracrine) or same-cell communication (autocrine). They are highly evolutionarily conserved in animals, which means they are similar across animal species from fruit flies to humans. Three Wnt signaling pathways have been characterized: the canonical Wnt pathway, the noncanonical planar cell polarity pathway, and the noncanonical Wnt/calcium pathway. All three pathways are activated by the binding of a Wnt-protein ligand to a Frizzled family receptor, which passes the biological signal to the Dishevelled protein inside the cell. The canonical Wnt pathway leads to regulation of gene transcription, and is thought to be negatively regulated in part by the SPATS1 gene. The noncanonical p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limb Bud
The limb bud is a structure formed early in vertebrate limb development. As a result of interactions between the ectoderm and underlying mesoderm, formation occurs roughly around the fourth week of development. In the development of the human embryo the upper limb bud appears in the third week and the lower limb bud appears four days later. The limb bud consists of undifferentiated mesoderm cells that are sheathed in ectoderm. As a result of cell signaling interactions between the ectoderm and underlying mesoderm cells, formation of the developing limb bud occurs as mesenchymal cells from the lateral plate mesoderm and somites begin to proliferate to the point where they create a bulge under the ectodermal cells above. The mesoderm cells in the limb bud that come from the lateral plate mesoderm will eventually differentiate into the developing limb’s connective tissues, such as cartilage, bone, and tendon. Moreover, the mesoderm cells that come from the somites will eventua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
