Carraco Gil, Martins-Jesus Ana P, Andrade Raquel P
ABC-RI, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute, Faro, Portugal.
Faculdade de Medicina e Ciências Biomédicas (FMCB), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, Portugal.
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2022 Aug 11;10:944016. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.944016. eCollection 2022.
Vertebrate embryo somitogenesis is the earliest morphological manifestation of the characteristic patterned structure of the adult axial skeleton. Pairs of somites flanking the neural tube are formed periodically during early development, and the molecular mechanisms in temporal control of this early patterning event have been thoroughly studied. The discovery of a molecular Embryo Clock (EC) underlying the periodicity of somite formation shed light on the importance of gene expression dynamics for pattern formation. The EC is now known to be present in all vertebrate organisms studied and this mechanism was also described in limb development and stem cell differentiation. An outstanding question, however, remains unanswered: what sets the different EC paces observed in different organisms and tissues? This review aims to summarize the available knowledge regarding the pace of the EC, its regulation and experimental manipulation and to expose new questions that might help shed light on what is still to unveil.
脊椎动物胚胎体节发生是成体轴向骨骼特征性模式结构的最早形态学表现。在早期发育过程中，神经管两侧会周期性地形成成对的体节，并且对这一早期模式形成事件的时间控制中的分子机制进行了深入研究。发现了一种作为体节形成周期性基础的分子胚胎钟（EC），这揭示了基因表达动态对模式形成的重要性。现在已知EC存在于所有已研究的脊椎动物中，并且这种机制也在肢体发育和干细胞分化中有所描述。然而，一个突出的问题仍然没有答案：是什么设定了在不同生物体和组织中观察到的不同EC节奏？这篇综述旨在总结关于EC节奏、其调节和实验操作的现有知识，并提出一些新问题，这些问题可能有助于揭示仍有待揭示的内容。
