Position dependent expression of a homeobox gene transcript in relation to amphibian limb regeneration.

Adult urodele amphibians such as the newt Notophthalmus viridescens are capable of regenerating their limbs and tail by formation of a blastema, a growth zone of mesenchymal progenitor cells. In an attempt to identify genes implicated in specification of the regenerate, we screened a newt forelimb blastema cDNA library with homeobox probes, and isolated and sequenced clones that identify a 1.8 kb polyadenylated transcript containing a homeobox. The transcript is derived from a single gene called NvHbox 1, the newt homologue of XIHbox 1 (Xenopus), HHO.c8 (human) and Hox-6.1 (mouse). The cDNA for the 1.8 kb transcript has two exons as determined by isolation and partial sequencing of a genomic clone. The expression of the transcript shows several interesting features in relation to limb regeneration: (i) Hybridization of Northern blots of poly(A)+ RNA from limb and tail and their respective blastemas shows that the transcript in limb tissues has exons 1 and 2, whereas a 1.8 kb transcript in tail tissues has only exon 2. (ii) The transcript is expressed in limbs of adult newt but not of adult Xenopus, raising the possibility that this contributes to an explanation of the loss of regenerative ability with maturation in adult anurans. (iii) The transcript is expressed at a higher level in a proximal (mid-humerus) blastema than in a distal one (mid-radius). When distal blastemas were proximalized by treatment with retinoic acid, no change in the level of the transcript was detected by Northern analysis at a single time point after amputation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)