Cell
Volume 61, Issue 2, 20 April 1990, Pages 301-308
Journal home page for Cell

Variations of cervical vertebrate after expression of a Hox-1.1 transgene in mice

https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(90)90810-2Get rights and content

Abstract

To understand the function of murine homeobox genes, a genetic analysis is mandatory. We generated gain-of-function mutants by introducing genomic sequences of the Hox-1.1 gene under the control of a chicken β-actin promoter into mice. Our previous data had shown that these transgenic mice are nonviable after birth and are born with craniofacial abnormalities. In a subsequent detailed analysis of severely affected animals, malformations of the basioccipital bone, the atlas, and the axis were observed. Manifestation of an additional vertebra, a proatlas, occurred at the craniocervical transition. The dominant interference of the Hox-1.1 transgene with developmental programs seems to occur around day 9 of gestation, the time of neural crest migration and somite differentiation. We discuss the resulting phenotype with respect to a developmental control function of Hox-1.1.

References (47)

  • W. Bateson

    Materials for the Study of Variation

    (1894)
  • R. Baur

    Zum Problem der Neugliederung der Wirbelsäule

    Acta Anat.

    (1969)
  • G.A. Curry

    Genetical and developmental studies on droopyear mice

    J. Embryol. Exp. Morphol.

    (1959)
  • B. Dawes

    The development of the vertebral column in mammals, as illustrated by its development in Mus musculus

    Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. (Lond.) B

    (1930)
  • F.G. Evans

    The morphology and functional evolution of the atlas-axis complex from fish to mammals

    Ann. NY Acad. Sci.

    (1939)
  • M. Featherstone et al.

    Hox-5.1 defines a homeobox-containing gene locus on mouse chromosome 2

  • A. Garcia-Bellido

    Homoeotic and atavic mutations in insects

    Am. Zool.

    (1977)
  • S.J. Gaunt

    Mouse homeobox gene transcripts occupy different but overlapping domains in embryonic germ layers and organs: a comparison of Hox-3.1 and Hox-1.5

    Development

    (1988)
  • G. Gibson et al.

    Head and thoracic transformations caused by ectopic expression of Antennapedia during Drosophila development

    Development

    (1988)
  • H. Grüneberg

    Genetical studies on the skeleton of the mouse. II. Undulated and its modifiers

    J. Genet.

    (1950)
  • H. Grüneberg

    The Genetics of the Mouse

    (1952)
  • H. Grüneberg

    The Pathology of Development

    (1952)
  • H. Hayek

    Über den Proatlas und über die Entwicklung der Kopfgelenke beim Menschen und bei einigen Säugetieren

    Sitzungsberichte d. Akad. d. Wiss.

    (1922)
  • Cited by (333)

    • Transgenic human HOXB1-9 directs anterior-posterior axial skeleton pattern in Hoxb1-9 deficient mice

      2022, Differentiation
      Citation Excerpt :

      The originally proposed Hox code stated that the identity of each vertebral segment depended on the combination of different Hox genes expressed in a prevertebral segment (Kessel and Gruss, 1991). Hox transgene overexpression or loss of multiple paralogous Hox genes can dramatically alter the Hox code, resulting in vertebral identity changes (Jegalian and De Robertis, 1992; Kessel et al., 1990; Lufkin et al., 1992; McIntyre et al., 2007; Pollock et al., 1992; Wellik and Capecchi, 2003). One of the consequences of the anterior thoracic vertebral transformations in the HoxB1-9Δ/Δ mice is a shift in forelimb position.

    • Accessory articulation of the transverse processes in the cervical spine

      2022, Radiology Case Reports
      Citation Excerpt :

      Another explanation for this accessory articulation could derive from the pivotal role of homeobox (Hox) genes in the regulation of vertebral development [21–23]. Previous studies have established the function of the Hox genes in the patterning of the axial skeleton through both gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments [24–27]. Thus, aberrations in the Hox genes’ regulation of segmental differentiation could explain the elongation of the anterior tubercles of the cervical transverse processes.

    • Bones and Cartilage: Developmental and Evolutionary Skeletal Biology

      2015, Bones and Cartilage: Developmental and Evolutionary Skeletal Biology
    • Chromatin Architectures and Hox Gene Collinearity

      2013, Current Topics in Developmental Biology
    • Comparative ontogeny of functional aspects of human cervical vertebrae

      2024, American Journal of Biological Anthropology
    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text