Plays an important role in the regulation of embryonic development, cell proliferation, and cell differentiation. Required for normal limb and cardiac valve development during embryogenesis.
J. Biol. Chem. 271, 15292-15297 (1996)[PubMed:8663044]
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are essential molecules for mammalian development. The nine known FGF ligands and the four signaling FGF receptors (and their alternatively spliced variants) are expressed in specific spatial and temporal patterns. The activity of this signaling pathway is regulated by ligand binding specificity, heparan sulfate proteoglycans, and the differential signaling capacity of individual FGF receptors. To determine potentially relevant ligand-receptor pairs we have engineered mitogenically responsive cell lines expressing the major splice variants of all the known FGF receptors. We have assayed the mitogenic activity of the nine known FGF ligands on these cell lines. These studies demonstrate that FGF 1 is the only FGF that can activate all FGF receptor splice variants. Using FGF 1 as an internal standard we have determined the relative activity of all the other members of the FGF family. These data should serve as a biochemical foundation for determining developmental, physiological, and pathophysiological processes that involve FGF signaling pathways.
The function that stimulates a cell to grow or proliferate. Most growth factors have other actions besides the induction of cell growth or proliferation.
Interacting selectively and non-covalently with heparin, any member of a group of glycosaminoglycans found mainly as an intracellular component of mast cells and which consist predominantly of alternating alpha-(1->4)-linked D-galactose and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine-6-sulfate residues.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 7305-7309 (1987)[PubMed:2959959]
hst is a transforming gene first identified from transformed NIH 3T3 cells that were transfected with DNA of a human stomach cancer. A genomic fragment of hst obtained directly from a human genomic library also has transforming activity. This fragment has a coding sequence identical to that of the hst cDNA prepared from an NIH 3T3 transformant induced by DNA from a stomach cancer. The deduced amino acid sequence of the hst protein is 43%, 38%, and 40% homologous, respectively, to human basic fibroblast growth factor, human acidic fibroblast growth factor, and mouse int-2 protein in selected regions. This suggests that hst encodes a protein related to fibroblast growth factors, which are wide-spectrum mitogens, and to the int-2 protein, a potential oncogene product implicated in murine mammary carcinogenesis.
The process in which a mesenchymal cell, acquires specialized structural and/or functional features of a chondroblast. Differentiation includes the processes involved in commitment of a cell to a chondroblast fate. A chondroblast is a precursor cell to chondrocytes.
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors play fundamental roles regulating growth, morphogenesis, and cartilage formation in embryonic limbs and facial primordia. However, the intracellular pathways that transduce FGF signals during the differentiation of pluripotent mesenchymal cells into chondrocytes are currently unknown. Our present study demonstrates that FGF8, 4, and 2 treatments exert both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on cartilage differentiation in micromass cultures prepared from mesenchymal cells of the chick embryo wing bud, frontonasal mass, and mandibular arch through activation of the MEK-ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. In cultures of stage 23/24 and stage 28/29 wing bud mesenchyme, as well as stage 24/25 and stage 28/29 frontonasal cells, FGF treatments depressed cartilage matrix production and decreased transcript levels for three cartilage-specific genes: col2a1, aggrecan, and sox9. Conversely, FGF treatment increased cartilage differentiation in cultures of stage 24/25 and stage 28/29 mandibular mesenchyme. In all cell types, FGF treatment elevated endogenous ERK phosphorylation. Moreover, both the stimulatory effects of FGFs on mandibular chondrogenesis, as well as the inhibitory effects of FGFs on wing mesenchyme and stage 24/25 frontonasal cells, were completely blocked when cultures were treated with MEK inhibitor U0126 or transfected with dominant negative ERK2. Thus, MEK-ERK activation is an essential component of the signal transduction pathway that mediates both positive and negative effects of FGFs 8, 4, and 2 on chondrogenesis in embryonic limb, mandibular, and early-stage frontonasal mesenchyme cells. Interestingly, the effects of FGF on late-stage frontonasal cells appear to be relayed by an ERK-independent system.
The process, occurring in the embryo, by which the anatomical structures of the hindlimbs are generated and organized. The hindlimbs are the posterior limbs of an animal.
J. Biol. Chem. 271, 15292-15297 (1996)[PubMed:8663044]
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are essential molecules for mammalian development. The nine known FGF ligands and the four signaling FGF receptors (and their alternatively spliced variants) are expressed in specific spatial and temporal patterns. The activity of this signaling pathway is regulated by ligand binding specificity, heparan sulfate proteoglycans, and the differential signaling capacity of individual FGF receptors. To determine potentially relevant ligand-receptor pairs we have engineered mitogenically responsive cell lines expressing the major splice variants of all the known FGF receptors. We have assayed the mitogenic activity of the nine known FGF ligands on these cell lines. These studies demonstrate that FGF 1 is the only FGF that can activate all FGF receptor splice variants. Using FGF 1 as an internal standard we have determined the relative activity of all the other members of the FGF family. These data should serve as a biochemical foundation for determining developmental, physiological, and pathophysiological processes that involve FGF signaling pathways.
The multiplication or reproduction of cells, resulting in the expansion of a mesenchymal cell population. A mesenchymal cell is a cell that normally gives rise to other cells that are organized as three-dimensional masses, rather than sheets.
Development 127, 4711-4718 (2000)[PubMed:11023873]
The development of many organs depends on sequential epithelial-mesenchymal interactions, and the developing tooth germ provides a powerful model for elucidating the nature of these inductive tissue interactions. In Msx1-deficient mice, tooth development arrests at the bud stage when Msx1 is required for the expression of Bmp4 and Fgf3 in the dental mesenchyme (Bei, M. and Maas, R. (1998) Development 125, 4325-4333). To define the tissue requirements for Msx1 function, we performed tissue recombinations between wild-type and Msx1 mutant dental epithelium and mesenchyme. We show that through the E14.5 cap stage of tooth development, Msx1 is required in the dental mesenchyme for tooth formation. After the cap stage, however, tooth development becomes Msx1 independent, although our experiments identify a further late function of Msx1 in odontoblast and dental pulp survival. These results suggest that prior to the cap stage, the dental epithelium receives an Msx1-dependent signal from the dental mesenchyme that is necessary for tooth formation. To further test this hypothesis, Msx1 mutant tooth germs were first cultured with either BMP4 or with various FGFs for two days in vitro and then grown under the kidney capsule of syngeneic mice to permit completion of organogenesis and terminal differentiation. Previously, using an in vitro culture system, we showed that BMP4 stimulated the growth of Msx1 mutant dental epithelium (Chen, Y., Bei, M. Woo, I., Satokata, I. and Maas, R. (1996). Development 122, 3035-3044). Using the more powerful kidney capsule grafting procedure, we now show that when added to explanted Msx1-deficient tooth germs prior to grafting, BMP4 rescues Msx1 mutant tooth germs all the way to definitive stages of enamel and dentin formation. Collectively, these results establish a transient functional requirement for Msx1 in the dental mesenchyme that is almost fully supplied by BMP4 alone, and not by FGFs. In addition, they formally prove the postulated downstream relationship of BMP4 with respect to Msx1, establish the non-cell-autonomous nature of Msx1 during odontogenesis, and disclose an additional late survival function for Msx1 in odontoblasts and dental pulp.
The process whose specific outcome is the progression of a dentin-containing tooth over time, from its formation to the mature structure. A dentin-containing tooth is a hard, bony organ borne on the jaw or other bone of a vertebrate, and is composed mainly of dentin, a dense calcified substance, covered by a layer of enamel.
J. Biol. Chem. 271, 15292-15297 (1996)[PubMed:8663044]
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are essential molecules for mammalian development. The nine known FGF ligands and the four signaling FGF receptors (and their alternatively spliced variants) are expressed in specific spatial and temporal patterns. The activity of this signaling pathway is regulated by ligand binding specificity, heparan sulfate proteoglycans, and the differential signaling capacity of individual FGF receptors. To determine potentially relevant ligand-receptor pairs we have engineered mitogenically responsive cell lines expressing the major splice variants of all the known FGF receptors. We have assayed the mitogenic activity of the nine known FGF ligands on these cell lines. These studies demonstrate that FGF 1 is the only FGF that can activate all FGF receptor splice variants. Using FGF 1 as an internal standard we have determined the relative activity of all the other members of the FGF family. These data should serve as a biochemical foundation for determining developmental, physiological, and pathophysiological processes that involve FGF signaling pathways.
Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors play fundamental roles regulating growth, morphogenesis, and cartilage formation in embryonic limbs and facial primordia. However, the intracellular pathways that transduce FGF signals during the differentiation of pluripotent mesenchymal cells into chondrocytes are currently unknown. Our present study demonstrates that FGF8, 4, and 2 treatments exert both inhibitory and stimulatory effects on cartilage differentiation in micromass cultures prepared from mesenchymal cells of the chick embryo wing bud, frontonasal mass, and mandibular arch through activation of the MEK-ERK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. In cultures of stage 23/24 and stage 28/29 wing bud mesenchyme, as well as stage 24/25 and stage 28/29 frontonasal cells, FGF treatments depressed cartilage matrix production and decreased transcript levels for three cartilage-specific genes: col2a1, aggrecan, and sox9. Conversely, FGF treatment increased cartilage differentiation in cultures of stage 24/25 and stage 28/29 mandibular mesenchyme. In all cell types, FGF treatment elevated endogenous ERK phosphorylation. Moreover, both the stimulatory effects of FGFs on mandibular chondrogenesis, as well as the inhibitory effects of FGFs on wing mesenchyme and stage 24/25 frontonasal cells, were completely blocked when cultures were treated with MEK inhibitor U0126 or transfected with dominant negative ERK2. Thus, MEK-ERK activation is an essential component of the signal transduction pathway that mediates both positive and negative effects of FGFs 8, 4, and 2 on chondrogenesis in embryonic limb, mandibular, and early-stage frontonasal mesenchyme cells. Interestingly, the effects of FGF on late-stage frontonasal cells appear to be relayed by an ERK-independent system.
The cellular process in which a signal is conveyed to trigger a change in the activity or state of a cell. Signal transduction begins with reception of a signal (e.g. a ligand binding to a receptor or receptor activation by a stimulus such as light), or for signal transduction in the absence of ligand, signal-withdrawal or the activity of a constitutively active receptor. Signal transduction ends with regulation of a downstream cellular process, e.g. regulation of transcription or regulation of a metabolic process. Signal transduction covers signaling from receptors located on the surface of the cell and signaling via molecules located within the cell. For signaling between cells, signal transduction is restricted to events at and within the receiving cell.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 7305-7309 (1987)[PubMed:2959959]
hst is a transforming gene first identified from transformed NIH 3T3 cells that were transfected with DNA of a human stomach cancer. A genomic fragment of hst obtained directly from a human genomic library also has transforming activity. This fragment has a coding sequence identical to that of the hst cDNA prepared from an NIH 3T3 transformant induced by DNA from a stomach cancer. The deduced amino acid sequence of the hst protein is 43%, 38%, and 40% homologous, respectively, to human basic fibroblast growth factor, human acidic fibroblast growth factor, and mouse int-2 protein in selected regions. This suggests that hst encodes a protein related to fibroblast growth factors, which are wide-spectrum mitogens, and to the int-2 protein, a potential oncogene product implicated in murine mammary carcinogenesis.
Protein involved in differentiation, the developmental process of a multicellular organism by which cells become specialized for particular functions. Differentiation requires selective expression of the genome; the fully differentiated state may be preceded by a stage in which the cell is already programmed for differentiation but is not yet expressing the characteristic phenotype determination. Also used for fungal conidiation proteins, and for some bacteria that present specialization of function in cell types, such as Caulobacter crescentus.
Protein involved in development, the process whereby a multicellular organism develops from its early immature forms, e.g., zygote, larva, embryo, into an adult.
Protein which, by binding to a cell-surface receptor, triggers an intracellular signal-transduction pathway leading to differentiation, proliferation, or other cellular response.
A reference proteome is a set of protein sequences derived from a complete proteome which constitutes a defined standard for a particular user community. Reference proteomes are manually defined according to a number of criteria. They cover the proteomes of well- studied model organisms and other proteomes of interest for biomedical and biotechnological research. Reference proteomes have been selected to provide broad coverage of the tree of life, and constitute a representative cross-section of the taxonomic diversity to be found within UniProtKB.
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