MyJournals Home  

RSS FeedsFOXL2 modulates cartilage, skeletal development and IGF1-dependent growth in mice (BMC Developmental Biology)

 
 

2 july 2015 13:50:10

 
FOXL2 modulates cartilage, skeletal development and IGF1-dependent growth in mice (BMC Developmental Biology)
 


Background: Haploinsufficiency of the FOXL2 transcription factor in humans causes Blepharophimosis/Ptosis/Epicanthus Inversus syndrome (BPES), characterized by eyelid anomalies and premature ovarian failure. Mice lacking Foxl2 recapitulate human eyelid/forehead defects and undergo female gonadal dysgenesis. We report here that mice lacking Foxl2 also show defects in postnatal growth and embryonic bone and cartilage formation. Methods: Foxl2 −/− male mice at different stages of development have been characterized and compared to wild type. Body length and weight were measured and growth curves were created. Skeletons were stained with alcian blue and/or alizarin red. Bone and cartilage formation was analyzed by Von Kossa staining and immunofluorescence using anti-FOXL2 and anti-SOX9 antibodies followed by confocal microscopy. Genes differentially expressed in skull vaults were evaluated by microarray analysis. Analysis of the GH/IGF1 pathway was done evaluating the expression of several hypothalamic-pituitary-bone axis markers by RT-qPCR. Results: Compared to wild-type, Foxl2 null mice are smaller and show skeletal abnormalities and defects in cartilage and bone mineralization, with down-regulation of the GH/IGF1 axis. Consistent with these effects, we find FOXL2 expressed in embryos at 9.5 dpc in neural tube epithelium, in head mesenchyme near the neural tube, and within the first branchial arch; then, starting at 12.5 dpc, expressed in cartilaginous tissue; and at PO and P7, in hypothalamus. Conclusions: Our results support FOXL2 as a master transcription factor in a spectrum of developmental processes, including growth, cartilage and bone formation. Its action overlaps that of SOX9, though they are antagonistic in female vs male gonadal sex determination but conjoint in cartilage and skeletal development.


 
149 viewsCategory: Biology, Cell Biology
 
Morphologically defined sub-stages of C. elegans vulval development in the fourth larval stage (BMC Developmental Biology)
Key pathways regulated by HoxA9,10,11/HoxD9,10,11 during limb development (BMC Developmental Biology)
 
 
blog comments powered by Disqus


MyJournals.org
The latest issues of all your favorite science journals on one page

Username:
Password:

Register | Retrieve

Search:

Cell Biology


Copyright © 2008 - 2024 Indigonet Services B.V.. Contact: Tim Hulsen. Read here our privacy notice.
Other websites of Indigonet Services B.V.: Nieuws Vacatures News Tweets Nachrichten