Early events in neural and homeogenetic induction

描述(申请人提供)：神经诱导是最重要的 脊椎动物胚胎发育的重要过程，既因为它是 在正常情况下，定义的细胞组之间最早的互动之一 胚胎，因为这一事件启动了成年中央的发育 神经系统(CNS)。它最初被描述为两个人之间的相互作用 细胞群：“组织者”(发出诱导信号)和 外胚层(对它们的反应是产生神经板本身和 到神经脊细胞)。神经感应也启动了区域 中枢神经系统的细分。神经诱导信号并不局限于 组织者；年轻的神经板本身可以从 有能力的外胚层(“同源诱导”)。令人惊讶的是，这种现象 还没有得到详细的研究，甚至不知道 同源基因诱导是区域特有的(例如：前脑是否诱导 前脑？)。 试图了解神经诱导的分子机制和 不同种类脊椎动物的区划产生了矛盾 结果。然而，开始出现这样一种概念，即两国之间的合作 几条信号通路参与了神经诱导和早期 神经系统的模式。在这个项目中，我们将结合使用 用分子和胚胎学方法研究最早的事件 神经系统的诱导和区域化。 具体地说，目标是：a.解决以下问题：分子 同源诱导的机制类似于组织者的诱导？是 同源基因诱导区特异性？B.描述6项规则的特征 新发现的标记外胚层对移植物的早期反应的基因 组织者(亨森？S节点)由不同组织和各种分泌物组成 因素，并开始评估它们在神经诱导中的功能作用 进程。C.研究新的锌指基因丘吉尔在神经中的作用 在小鼠体内靶向失活发育。D.探索可能的角色 在6个新发现的候选神经早期分泌因子中 诱导和同源诱导。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Neural induction is one of the most important processes during vertebrate embryonic development, both because it is one of the earliest interactions between defined groups of cells in the normal embryo, and because this event initiates the development of the adult Central Nervous System (CNS). It was first described as an interaction between two groups of cells: the "organizer" (which emits inducing signals) and the ectoderm (which responds to them by giving rise to the neural plate proper and to neural crest cells). Neural induction also initiates the regional subdivision of the CNS. Neural inducing signals are not confined to the organizer; the young neural plate itself can induce a neural plate from competent ectoderm ("homeogenetic induction"). Surprisingly, this phenomenon has not yet been studied in detail, and it is not even known whether homeogenetic induction is region-specific (for example: does forebrain induce forebrain?). Attempts to understand the molecular mechanisms of neural induction and regionalization in different species of vertebrates have produced contradictory results. However, the notion is starting to emerge that cooperation between several signaling pathways is involved in neural induction and the early patterning of the nervous system. In this project we will use a combination of molecular and embryological methods to investigate the earliest events leading to the induction and regionalization of the nervous system. Specifically, the aims are: A. To address the questions: Is the molecular mechanism of homeogenetic induction similar to induction by the organizer? Is homeogenetic induction region-specific? B. To characterize the regulation of 6 newly-identified genes that mark early responses of the ectoderm to grafts of the organizer (Hensen?s node) by different tissues and various secreted factors, and to begin to assess their functional roles in the neural induction process. C. To study the role of the novel Zinc finger gene Churchill in neural development by targeted inactivation in mouse. D. To explore the possible roles of 6 newly-identified candidate secreted factors in the early steps of neural induction and homeogenetic induction.