Nodal Morphogens
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Center for Brain Science, Broad Institute, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
- Correspondence: schier{at}mcb.harvard.edu
Abstract
Nodal signals belong to the TGF-β superfamily and are essential for the induction of mesoderm and endoderm and the determination of the left–right axis. Nodal signals can act as morphogens—they have concentration-dependent effects and can act at a distance from their source of production. Nodal and its feedback inhibitor Lefty form an activator/inhibitor pair that behaves similarly to postulated reaction–diffusion models of tissue patterning. Nodal morphogen activity is also regulated by microRNAs, convertases, TGF-β signals, coreceptors, and trafficking factors. This article describes how Nodal morphogens pattern embryonic fields and discusses how Nodal morphogen signaling is modulated.
Footnotes
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Editors: James Briscoe, Peter Lawrence, and Jean-Paul Vincent
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Additional Perspectives on Generation and Interpretation of Morphogen Gradients available at www.cshperspectives.org
- Copyright © 2009 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved
