MRC-National Institute for Medical Research, Developmental Biology, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, NW7 1AA London, UK.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2012 Dec;22(6):527-32. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2012.08.004. Epub 2012 Sep 6.
Morphogen gradients regulate the patterning and growth of many tissues, hence a key question is how they are established and maintained during development. Theoretical descriptions have helped to explain how gradient shape is controlled by the rates of morphogen production, spreading and degradation. These effective rates have been measured using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and photoactivation. To unravel which molecular events determine the effective rates, such tissue-level assays have been combined with genetic analysis, high-resolution assays, and models that take into account interactions with receptors, extracellular components and trafficking. Nevertheless, because of the natural and experimental data variability, and the underlying assumptions of transport models, it remains challenging to conclusively distinguish between cellular mechanisms.
形态发生素梯度调节许多组织的模式形成和生长，因此一个关键问题是它们在发育过程中是如何建立和维持的。理论描述有助于解释梯度形状如何受到形态发生素产生、扩散和降解速率的控制。这些有效速率已使用光漂白后荧光恢复（FRAP）和光激活来测量。为了弄清哪些分子事件决定了有效速率，可以将组织水平测定与遗传分析、高分辨率测定以及考虑与受体、细胞外成分和运输相互作用的模型相结合。然而，由于自然和实验数据的可变性以及运输模型的基本假设，仍然难以确定细胞机制之间的区别。
