XB-IMG-131430
Xenbase Image ID: 131430
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FIG. 6. b-Catenin signaling promotes neural differentiation and neural crest formation. (A) RT-PCR analysis of ectodermal explants
injected with dnGSK3 (lane 3; 150 pg/blastomere), b-catenin (lane 4; 150 pg/blastomere), treated with LiCl (lane 5; 120 mM in 0.13 Barth
for 30 min at 32-cell stage), or injected with a constitutive active BMP receptor (caBR; 1 ng/blastomere) and treated with LiCl (lane 6) and
harvested at stage 24. Note that induction of the neural marker genes NCAM and Otx-2 is activated by the b-Catenin pathway and requires
inhibition of BMP signaling. (B) Ectodermal explants of embryos treated with LiCl express the neural crest marker Slug by RT-PCR analysis.
(C–K) Ectodermal explants microinjected with dnGSK3 or b2catenin mRNA and analyzed by in situ hybridization using b-neurotubulin
as a marker for differentiated neurons at stage 24 (C–E) or by morphological (F–H) and histological (I–K) criteria at stage 42. The inset in (C)
shows the expression of b-neurotubulin in a control embryo. Note that, in explants of dnGSK3 and b-catenin-injected embryos,
b-neurotubulin expression is patchy and that, in histological sections, neural crest-like tissues with melanocytes are observed. ae, atypical
epidermis; ne, neural tissue; nc, neural crest; cg, cement gland. Image published in: Wessely O et al. (2001) Copyright © 2001. Image reproduced with permission of the Publisher, Elsevier B. V. Larger Image Printer Friendly View |