Elkins Matthew B, Henry Jonathan J
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Dev Dyn. 2006 Jul;235(7):1845-57. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.20824.
We have identified Xenopus MADM-like (xMADML), a Xenopus laevis gene related to the murine MADM and the human NRBP genes. xMADML is expressed throughout early development and is expressed most strongly in the developing lens and more weakly in the retina and other anterior tissues. We demonstrate that disruption of xMADML translation by means of morpholino injection results in impaired retina and lens development. Reciprocal transplantation of the presumptive lens ectoderm between morpholino-injected embryos and those injected solely with a dextran lineage tracer demonstrates that xMADML is necessary in both the lens and the retina for correct development of these eye tissues. Analysis of gene expression after knockdown of xMADML revealed significant alterations in the expression of some genes, including Pax6, xSix3, Sox2, and Sox3, suggesting that xMADML plays a role in regulating gene expression during development of the eye. This investigation is the first in vivo study examining the developmental role of this novel gene and reveals an important role of xMADML in eye tissue development and differentiation.
我们鉴定出了非洲爪蟾类MADM样基因（xMADML），它是一种与小鼠MADM基因和人类NRBP基因相关的非洲爪蟾基因。xMADML在整个早期发育过程中均有表达，在发育中的晶状体中表达最强，而在视网膜和其他前部组织中表达较弱。我们证明，通过吗啉代寡核苷酸注射破坏xMADML的翻译会导致视网膜和晶状体发育受损。在注射了吗啉代寡核苷酸的胚胎与仅注射了葡聚糖谱系示踪剂的胚胎之间进行假定晶状体外胚层的相互移植，结果表明xMADML对于这些眼组织的正确发育在晶状体和视网膜中都是必需的。对xMADML敲低后的基因表达分析显示，包括Pax6、xSix3、Sox2和Sox3在内的一些基因的表达发生了显著变化，这表明xMADML在眼睛发育过程中对基因表达的调控发挥作用。这项研究是首次对该新基因的发育作用进行的体内研究，揭示了xMADML在眼组织发育和分化中的重要作用。
