Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, 1011 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2013 Dec;70(24):4659-66. doi: 10.1007/s00018-013-1399-9. Epub 2013 Jun 16.
Establishment of vertebrate left-right asymmetry is a critical process for normal embryonic development. After the discovery of genes expressed asymmetrically along the left-right axis in chick embryos in the mid 1990s, the molecular mechanisms responsible for left-right patterning in vertebrate embryos have been studied extensively. In this review article, we discuss the mechanisms by which the initial symmetry along the left-right axis is broken in the mouse embryo. We focus on the role of primary cilia and molecular mechanisms of ciliogenesis at the node when symmetry is broken and left-right asymmetry is established. The node is considered a signaling center for early mouse embryonic development, and the results we review here have led to a better understanding of how the node functions and establishes left-right asymmetry.
脊椎动物左右不对称的建立是正常胚胎发育的关键过程。在 20 世纪 90 年代中期发现鸡胚中沿左右轴表达的不对称基因后,人们对脊椎动物胚胎中左右模式形成的分子机制进行了广泛研究。在这篇综述文章中,我们讨论了在小鼠胚胎中打破左右轴最初对称性的机制。我们重点讨论了初级纤毛在打破对称性和建立左右不对称性时的作用,以及纤毛发生的分子机制。节点被认为是早期小鼠胚胎发育的信号中心,我们在这里回顾的结果使我们对节点的功能和建立左右不对称性有了更好的理解。