Xenbase Image ID: 23956

Fig. 4. Overexpression of Irx genes in Xenopus expands the pronephric territory. Embryos are shown in lateral views (except when indicated). Embryos were injected in a single blastomere (V2.2) at the 8- to 16-cell stage and lacZ mRNA was used as linear tracer. Neurula (A-P) or tadpole (Q-R) embryos injected with different mRNAs. Transverse sections of tadpole embryos are shown in S,T. (A-H) Overexpression of 300 pg of MT-Irx1-GR (A-D) or MT-Irx3-GR (E-H) mRNAs expands (arrowheads) ventrally the expression of Lim1 (A,B,E,F) and Pax8 (C,D,G,H) upon addition of dexamethasone (Dex) at stage 14, whereas no effect was observed in the absence of Dex (not shown). (I-P) Embryos co-injected with a mix of Irx1 and Irx3 MOs and MT-Irx3-GR mRNAs show strong downregulation of Lim1 (I,J; arrowhead) and Pax8 (K,L; arrowhead) in the absence of Dex. (M-P) This phenotype is rescued upon addition of hormone at stage 14. (Q-T) Tadpole embryos injected with MT-Irx1-GR mRNAs and Dex treated at stage 14 show enlarged kidneys (Q,R; arrowhead), as determined by staining with the 3G8 antibody. (S) Transverse section of a similarly injected embryo. (T) The same section treated with propidium iodide for nuclear staining. The control and the enlarged pronephros show the same cellular morphology. Image published in: Alarcón P et al. (2008) Copyright © 2008. Image reproduced with permission of the publisher and the copyright holder. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. Gene Synonyms Species Stage(s) Tissue lhx1.L lim-1, Lim1, lim1, Xlim-1, Xlim1 X. laevis Throughout NF stage 22 pronephric mesenchyme pax8.L pax-8, XPax-8, XPax8 X. laevis Throughout NF stage 22 pronephric mesenchyme neural crest cranial neural crest Image source: Published Larger Image Printer Friendly View

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