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Lithium-sensitive production of inositol phosphates during amphibian embryonic mesoderm induction
J A Maslanski1, L Leshko, W B Busa
1Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218.
Abstract:
Mesoderm induction and body axis determination in frog (Xenopus) embryos are thought to involve growth factor-mediated cell-cell signaling, but the signal transduction pathways are unknown. Li+, which inhibits the polyphosphoinositide (PI) cycle signal transduction pathway in many cells, also disrupts axis determination and mesoderm induction. Amounts of the PI cycle-derived second messenger, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, increased during mesoderm induction in normal embryos; addition of Li+ inhibited the embryonic inositol monophosphatase and reversed this increase. Embryonic PI cycle activity thus shows characteristics that indicate it may function in mesoderm induction and axis determination.
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