Engrailed 1 mediates correct formation of limb innervation through two distinct mechanisms.

Engrailed-1 (En1) is expressed in the ventral ectoderm of the developing limb where it plays an instructive role in the dorsal-ventral patterning of the forelimb. Besides its well-described role as a transcription factor in regulating gene expression through its DNA-binding domain, En1 may also be s...

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Main Authors: Rosa-Eva Huettl, Georg Luxenhofer, Elisa Bianchi, Corinna Haupt, Rajiv Joshi, Alain Prochiantz, Andrea B Huber
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118505&type=printable
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author Rosa-Eva Huettl
Georg Luxenhofer
Elisa Bianchi
Corinna Haupt
Rajiv Joshi
Alain Prochiantz
Andrea B Huber
author_facet Rosa-Eva Huettl
Georg Luxenhofer
Elisa Bianchi
Corinna Haupt
Rajiv Joshi
Alain Prochiantz
Andrea B Huber
author_sort Rosa-Eva Huettl
collection DOAJ
description Engrailed-1 (En1) is expressed in the ventral ectoderm of the developing limb where it plays an instructive role in the dorsal-ventral patterning of the forelimb. Besides its well-described role as a transcription factor in regulating gene expression through its DNA-binding domain, En1 may also be secreted to form an extracellular gradient, and directly impact on the formation of the retinotectal map. We show here that absence of En1 causes mispatterning of the forelimb and thus defects in the dorsal-ventral pathfinding choice of motor axons in vivo. In addition, En1 but not En2 also has a direct and specific repulsive effect on motor axons of the lateral aspect of the lateral motor column (LMC) but not on medial LMC projections. Moreover, an ectopic dorsal source of En1 pushes lateral LMC axons to the ventral limb in vivo. Thus, En1 controls the establishment of limb innervation through two distinct molecular mechanisms.
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publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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spelling doaj-art-307c8ce0d3a142fabe782c96fa10c1ea2025-08-20T02:15:12ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01102e011850510.1371/journal.pone.0118505Engrailed 1 mediates correct formation of limb innervation through two distinct mechanisms.Rosa-Eva HuettlGeorg LuxenhoferElisa BianchiCorinna HauptRajiv JoshiAlain ProchiantzAndrea B HuberEngrailed-1 (En1) is expressed in the ventral ectoderm of the developing limb where it plays an instructive role in the dorsal-ventral patterning of the forelimb. Besides its well-described role as a transcription factor in regulating gene expression through its DNA-binding domain, En1 may also be secreted to form an extracellular gradient, and directly impact on the formation of the retinotectal map. We show here that absence of En1 causes mispatterning of the forelimb and thus defects in the dorsal-ventral pathfinding choice of motor axons in vivo. In addition, En1 but not En2 also has a direct and specific repulsive effect on motor axons of the lateral aspect of the lateral motor column (LMC) but not on medial LMC projections. Moreover, an ectopic dorsal source of En1 pushes lateral LMC axons to the ventral limb in vivo. Thus, En1 controls the establishment of limb innervation through two distinct molecular mechanisms.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118505&type=printable
spellingShingle Rosa-Eva Huettl
Georg Luxenhofer
Elisa Bianchi
Corinna Haupt
Rajiv Joshi
Alain Prochiantz
Andrea B Huber
Engrailed 1 mediates correct formation of limb innervation through two distinct mechanisms.
PLoS ONE
title Engrailed 1 mediates correct formation of limb innervation through two distinct mechanisms.
title_full Engrailed 1 mediates correct formation of limb innervation through two distinct mechanisms.
title_fullStr Engrailed 1 mediates correct formation of limb innervation through two distinct mechanisms.
title_full_unstemmed Engrailed 1 mediates correct formation of limb innervation through two distinct mechanisms.
title_short Engrailed 1 mediates correct formation of limb innervation through two distinct mechanisms.
title_sort engrailed 1 mediates correct formation of limb innervation through two distinct mechanisms
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118505&type=printable
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