Shiratori Hidetaka, Hamada Hiroshi
Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Japan.
Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Japan.
Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2014 Aug;32:80-4. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2014.03.029. Epub 2014 Apr 2.
Two TGFβ-related proteins, Nodal and Lefty, are asymmetrically expressed and play central roles in establishing left-right (L-R) asymmetry of our body. Nodal acts as a left-side determinant whereas Lefty restricts Nodal activity to the left side by acting as a feedback inhibitor of Nodal. While the mechanism for symmetry breaking is variable among animals, the pair of Nodal and Lefty has a conserved role in the L-R asymmetry pathway. Function and regulation of Nodal and Lefty have been revealed in the last decades, but in this review we summarize the role of TGFβ-related proteins together with more recent findings. We mainly discuss observations made with mouse embryos, unless indicated otherwise.
两种与转化生长因子β（TGFβ）相关的蛋白，即Nodal和Lefty，呈不对称表达，并在建立我们身体的左右（L-R）不对称性方面发挥核心作用。Nodal作为左侧决定因素，而Lefty通过作为Nodal的反馈抑制剂将Nodal的活性限制在左侧。虽然动物之间打破对称性的机制各不相同，但Nodal和Lefty这一对蛋白在L-R不对称信号通路中具有保守作用。在过去几十年中，Nodal和Lefty的功能及调控已被揭示，但在本综述中，我们将总结TGFβ相关蛋白的作用以及更多最新发现。除非另有说明，我们主要讨论对小鼠胚胎的观察结果。
