Patel K, Nittenberg R, D'Souza D, Irving C, Burt D, Wilkinson D G, Tickle C
Division of Developmental Neurobiology, National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK.
Development. 1996 Apr;122(4):1147-55. doi: 10.1242/dev.122.4.1147.
The Eph-related receptor tyrosine kinase gene, Cek-8, is expressed in mesenchyme at the tip of chick limb buds, with high levels of transcripts posteriorly and apically but fading out anteriorly. Expression of Cek-8 in distal mesenchyme is regulated by apical ridge- and FGF-polarising signals and retinoic acid, and is uniform across the anteroposterior axis in talpid3 mutants. These data indicate that Cek-8 expression responds to regulatory signals during limb patterning and suggest that this receptor tyrosine kinase may have a role in coordinating responses to signals in the progress zone of early buds. Later on in limb development, Cek-8 expression is associated with cell condensations that form tendons and their attachments to cartilage rudiments and then in developing feather buds.
