Neuron
Volume 6, Issue 6, June 1991, Pages 971-981
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Article
Induction of a mesencephalic phenotype in the 2-day-old chick prosencephalon is preceded by the early expression of the homeobox gene en

https://doi.org/10.1016/0896-6273(91)90237-TGet rights and content

Abstract

The homeobox gene en, homologous to the gene engrailed of Drosophila, is expressed in the metencephalic-mesencephalic segment of the vertebrate neural tube. Using quail-chick chimeras, an antibody against en proteins, and cytoarchitectonic techniques, we demonstrate that metencephalon transplanted to prosencephalon, at E2, maintains a high level of en proteins and its presumptive cerebellar fate. The ectopic metencephalon induces in the contiguous host prosencephalon the expression of en and, subsequently, a mesencephalic phenotype. These related genetic and phenotypic expressions indicate that the transcriptional regulatory en gene is involved in cerebellar and mesencephalic cytodifferentiation. The expression of en can also be induced in chick prosencephalon by a mammalian metencephalic graft, indicating that the factors regulating the transcription of en are phylogenetically well conserved.

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    Present address: Departmento de Anatomia Humana, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.

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