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Induction of epidermis and inhibition of neural fate by Bmp-4

Abstract

DURING gastrulation in vertebrates, ectodermal cells choose between two fates, neural and epidermal. The nervous system forms in response to signals from the Spemann organizer1,2; ectoderm that does not receive these signals becomes epidermis. Unexpectedly, however, in Xenopus, neural tissue also forms when cell-cell communication within the ectoderm is disrupted by cell dissociation3,4 or by antagonists of the growth factor activin5-7. These observations suggest that epidermal specification depends on local signalling, by activin or a close relative, and that neural tissue forms when this communication is blocked6. Here we report that bone morphogenesis protein 4 (Bmp-4), a relative of activin that is expressed in the embryo at the time of ectodermal fate determination8,9, is a potent epidermal inducer and neural inhibitor, the first reported in any vertebrate. Activin can inhibit neuralization by inducing mesoderm, but does not induce epidermis. Moreover, the dominant-negative activin receptor, which stimulates neuralization when expressed in the embryo5,6, blocks Bmp-4 in our assay. Our findings demonstrate that epidermal fate can be induced, and thus provide further evidence that neural specification is under inhibitory control in vertebrates.

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Wilson, P., Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. Induction of epidermis and inhibition of neural fate by Bmp-4. Nature 376, 331–333 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/376331a0

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