A receptor protein tyrosine kinase implicated in the segmental patterning of the hindbrain and mesoderm

Pattern formation in the hindbrain and paraxial mesoderm of vertebrates occurs by the formation of a series of repeated segments. These processes of segmentation appear different at the morphological level, since hindbrain segments, the rhombomeres, form by the subdivision of the neural epithelium into compartments, whereas the mesodermal somites form by the sequential aggregation of mesenchymal cells into epithelial balls. Previous studies have implicated genes encoding transcription factors in the development of hindbrain segments, but nothing is known of genes involved in the formation of somites. Cellular interactions and signal transduction must be an important aspect of hindbrain segmentation, so we have screened for tyrosine kinases expressed in rhombomere-restricted patterns in the developing mouse embryo. We have identified a receptor protein tyrosine kinase, Sek, that has high relative levels of expression in rhombomeres 3 and 5. This alternating pattern is established coincidentally, both spatially and temporally, with the expression of Krox-20, a zinc-finger gene expressed prior to the morphological formation of rhombomeres. In addition, Sek expression occurs in several other developing tissues, including a dynamic regulation in the developing forebrain, spinal cord, early mesoderm and anterior presomitic mesoderm (segmental plate). The latter expression occurs in two stripes that correlate with, and presage, the formation of somites. Sek expression initially occurs throughout the presumptive somite, then becomes restricted anteriorly, and finally is down-regulated as the definitive somite is formed. These data suggest that despite the morphological differences in the segmentation of the hindbrain and mesoderm, Sek is involved in the segmental patterning of both of these tissues.