Ericson J, Thor S, Edlund T, Jessell T M, Yamada T
Department of Microbiology, Umeå University, Sweden.
Science. 1992 Jun 12;256(5063):1555-60. doi: 10.1126/science.1350865.
Motor neurons in the embryonic chick spinal cord express a homeobox gene, Islet-1, soon after their final mitotic division and before the appearance of other differentiated motor neuron properties. The expression of Islet-1 by neural cells is regulated by inductive signals from the floor plate and notochord. These results establish Islet-1 as the earliest marker of developing motor neurons. The molecular nature of the Islet-1 protein suggests that it may be involved in the establishment of motor neuron fate.
