Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Regulation of neural induction by the Chd and Bmp-4 antagonistic patterning signals in Xenopus

Nature volume 376, pages 333–336 (1995)Cite this article

A Correction to this article was published on 01 November 1995

A Correction to this article was published on 26 October 1995

This article has been updated

Abstract

IN Drosophila the amount of neurogenic ectoderm, from which the central nervous system (CNS) derives, is regulated by a dorsal-ventral system of positional information in which two secreted molecules of antagonistic functions, decapentaplegic (dpp) and short-gastrulation (sog), play fundamental roles1-4. The vertebrate homologue of dpp is either bmp-4 or bmp-2 (ref. 5), and the homologue of sog is chd 4,6,7 (s-chordin). In Xenopus the CNS is induced by signals emanating from the organizer8, and two proteins secreted by the organizer, noggin9 and follistatin10, have been shown to induce neural tissue in animal-cap assays. Here we report that Chd, another organizer-specific secreted factor6, has neuralizing activity and that this activity can be antagonized by Bmp-4. Inhibition of the function of the endogenous Bmp-4 present in the animal cap11 also leads to neural differentiation. We suggest that conserved molecular mechanisms involving chd/sog and bmp-4/fdpp gene products pattern the ectoderm in Xenopus and in Drosophila.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

References

  1. Ferguson, E. L. & Anderson, K. V. Cell 71, 451–461 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ferguson, E. L. & Anderson, K. V. Development 114, 583–597 (1992).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. François, V., Solloway, M., O'Neill, J. W., Energy, J. & Bier, E. Genes Dev. 8, 2602–2616 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Holley, S. A. et al. Nature 376, 249–253 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Padgett, R. W., St Johnson, R. D. & Gelbart, W. M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 2905–2909 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Sasai, Y. et al. Cell 79, 779–790 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. François, V. & Bier, E. Cell 80, 19–20 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hamburger, V. The Heritage of Experimental Embryology: Hans Spemann and the Organizer. (Oxford Univ. Press, New York. 1988).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Lamb, T. M. et al. Science 262, 713–718 (1993).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hemmati-Birvanlou, A., Kelly, O. G. & Melton, D. A. Cell 77, 283–295 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Fainsod, A., Steinbeisser, H. & De Robertis, E. M. EMBO J. 13, 5015–5025 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Niehrs, C., Keller, R., Cho, K. W. Y. & De Robertis, E. M. Cell 72, 491–503 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Ruiz i Altaba, A., Cox, C., Jessell, T. M. & Klar, A. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 8268–8272 (1993).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Dale, L., Howes, G., Price, B. M. J. & Smith, J. C. Development 115, 573–585 (1992).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Jones, C. M., Lyons, K. M., Lapan, P. M., Wright, C. V. E. & Hogan, B. L. M. Development 115, 639–647 (1992).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Richter, K., Grunz, H. & Dawid, I. B. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 8086–8090 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Graff, J. M., Thies, S. R., Song, J. J., Celeste, A. J. & Melton, D. A. Cel 79, 169–179 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Suzuki, A. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A, 91, 10255–10259 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Schulte-Merker, S., Smith, J. C. & Dale, L. EMBO J. 13, 3533–3541 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Matzuk, M. M. et al. Nature 374, 360–363 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Shawlot, W. & Behringer, R. R. Nature 374, 425–430 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Taira, M., Otani, H., Saint-Jeannet, J. P. & Dawid, I. B. Nature 372, 677–699 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. & Melton, D. A. Nature 359, 609–614 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. & Melton, D. A. Cell 77, 273–281 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Frasch, M. Nature 374, 464–467 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Sharpe, C. R., Pluck, A. & Gurdon, J. B. Development 107, 701–714 (1989).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Jamrich, M. & Sato, S. Development 105, 779–786 (1989).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Zaraisky, A. G. et al. Devl Biol. 152, 373–382 (1992).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Herbert Steinbeisser

    Present address: Max-Planck-lnstitut fur Entwicklungsbiologie, Spemannstrasse 35, 72076, Tubingen, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California, 90095-1737, USA

    Yoshiki Sasai, Bin Lu, Herbert Steinbeisser & Eddy M. De Robertis

Authors
  1. Yoshiki Sasai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bin Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Herbert Steinbeisser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Eddy M. De Robertis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sasai, Y., Lu, B., Steinbeisser, H. et al. Regulation of neural induction by the Chd and Bmp-4 antagonistic patterning signals in Xenopus. Nature 376, 333–336 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/376333a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/376333a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing