Regulation of claudin expression in chick embryos

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All vertebrates are bilaterally symmetrical on the outside but internally they have a large number of asymmetries with respect to how the internal organs are positioned within the body. We are interested in understanding the set of "embryonic instructions" that direct the individual organs to become specifically localized to the left or right sides of the embryo. Interestingly, this pattern has been evolutionarily conserved. Currently, we are investigating those mechanisms that are responsible for the initial steps of this process and convert a bilaterally symmetrical embryo into an embryo with distinct left and right asymmetries. One of the molecules that we are studying is Claudin-1, a tight junction protein that helps to regulate the movement of molecules between cell layers and to maintain the proper distribution of molecules on the cell surface. We have shown that the inappropriate expression of Claudin-1 during embryogenesis alters the normal asymmetric development of the embryo. Therefore, we hypothesize that the dynamic expression pattern of Claudin-1 must be temporarily and spatially regulated for normal embryogenesis.