アクティブボード・２０１４年　６月
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研究発表を行った学会；
・第４７回日本発生生物学会年会
　２０１４年５月２７日〜３０日（名古屋）
タイトル；Cadherin-7 joins dorsal-ventral patterning of the chick embryonic spinal cord through sonic hedgehog signaling.
発表者；河野　利恵　氏
　　　（熊本大学　大学院生命科学研究部　神経分化学分野）
Abstract；
Dorsal-ventral (DV) patterning of the vertebrate neural tube is achieved by the combined activities of morphogens secreted from its most dorsal and ventral portions. Progenitors are assumed to select alternative cell fates according to the local concentrations of these morphogens. Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is a morphogen that induces ventral patterning of the spinal cord. Shh protein is expressed and cleaved to N-terminus and C-terminus in floor plate. N-terminus Shh (N-Shh) diffuses for long distance and establishes cell identity of ventral spinal cord in a concentration-dependent manner. N-Shh mediates the repression of class I homeodomain transcription factors and induction of class II homeodomain transcriptional factors in the progenitor cells. Class I and class II homeodomain transcriptional factors form progenitor domain boundaries. However, the molecular mechanisms that determine discrete progenitor domains remain unclearly.
Cadherin-7 expression is induced by Shh as a thick band in the central region of the transverse plane of the chick embryonic spinal cord. Here, we report that cadherin-7 is a Shh receptor and enhances Shh signal through activator form of Gli3 in vivo and in vitro. In the presence of N-terminus Shh, cadherin-7 accumulates Sufu (Suppressor of Fused) at the subcytomembrane of cadherin-7 expressing cell. Pax7 expression is inhibited by Shh signaling. Cadherin-7 regulates dorsal cell fate indicated by Pax7 expression through the enhancement of Shh signal in the intermediate region and affects dorsal cell fate of the spinal cord.