Ingham Philip W, Placzek Marysia
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 61 Biopolis Drive, Proteos, 138673, Singapore.
Nat Rev Genet. 2006 Nov;7(11):841-50. doi: 10.1038/nrg1969.
Embryonic development is an emergent process in which increasing complexity is generated by sequential cellular interactions. Recently, it has become clear that such interactions are mediated by just a few families of signalling molecules; but how does this limited repertoire elicit the diversity of form that is characteristic of multicellular organisms? Here we review the various ways in which a member of one such family, the sonic hedgehog (SHH) protein, is deployed during embryonic development. These examples of SHH function provide paradigms for inductive interactions that should help to inform attempts to recapitulate cellular programming and organogenesis in vitro.
胚胎发育是一个渐进过程，在此过程中，细胞间的顺序性相互作用产生了不断增加的复杂性。最近，已经明确这种相互作用是由少数几类信号分子介导的；但是，这种有限的信号分子库是如何引发多细胞生物所特有的形态多样性的呢？在这里，我们回顾了刺猬索尼克（SHH）蛋白（这类家族中的一个成员）在胚胎发育过程中的各种作用方式。SHH功能的这些例子为诱导性相互作用提供了范例，这应该有助于为在体外重现细胞编程和器官发生的尝试提供信息。
