Departamento de Anatomía y Biología Celular and IDIVAL, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain.
Dev Dyn. 2022 Jan;251(1):125-136. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.349. Epub 2021 May 6.
Transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) constitutes a large and evolutionarily conserved superfamily of secreted factors that play essential roles in embryonic development, cancer, tissue regeneration, and human degenerative pathology. Studies of this signaling cascade in the regulation of cellular and tissue changes in the three-dimensional context of a developing embryo have notably advanced in the understanding of the action mechanism of these growth factors. In this review, we address the role of TGFβ signaling in the developing limb, focusing on its essential function in the morphogenesis of the autopod. As we discuss in this work, modern mouse genetic experiments together with more classical embryological approaches in chick embryos, provided very valuable information concerning the role of TGFβ and Activin family members in the morphogenesis of the digits of tetrapods, including the formation of phalanxes, digital tendons, and interphalangeal joints. We emphasize the importance of the Activin and TGFβ proteins as digit inducing factors and their critical interaction with the BMP signaling to sculpt the hand and foot morphology.
转化生长因子β（TGFβ）构成了一个庞大且进化上保守的分泌因子超家族，在胚胎发育、癌症、组织再生和人类退行性病变中发挥着重要作用。在胚胎三维环境中对细胞和组织变化的调节中，对该信号级联的研究显著促进了对这些生长因子作用机制的理解。在这篇综述中，我们探讨了 TGFβ信号在发育中的四肢中的作用，重点关注其在附肢形态发生中的基本功能。正如我们在本文中讨论的，现代小鼠遗传实验以及鸡胚中更经典的胚胎学方法，为 TGFβ和激活素家族成员在包括指节、指腱和指间关节形成在内的四足动物指（趾）的形态发生中的作用提供了非常有价值的信息。我们强调了激活素和 TGFβ 蛋白作为诱导因子的重要性，以及它们与 BMP 信号的关键相互作用，以塑造手和脚的形态。
