Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Prediction and Validation of Gene Regulatory Elements Activated During Retinoic Acid Induced Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation
Published on: June 21, 2016
A requirement for retinoic acid-mediated transcriptional activation in ventral neural patterning and motor neuron
Bennett G Novitch1, Hynek Wichterle, Thomas M Jessell
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, 701 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Abstract:
The specification of neuronal fates in the ventral spinal cord depends on the regulation of homeodomain (HD) and basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins by Sonic hedgehog (Shh). Most of these transcription factors function as repressors, leaving unresolved the link between inductive signaling pathways and transcriptional activators involved in ventral neuronal specification. We show here that retinoid signaling and the activator functions of retinoid receptors are required to pattern the expression of HD and bHLH proteins and to specify motor neuron identity. We also show that fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) repress progenitor HD protein expression, implying that evasion of FGF signaling and exposure to retinoid and Shh signals are obligate steps in the emergence of ventral neural pattern. Moreover, joint exposure of neural progenitors to retinoids and FGFs suffices to induce motor neuron differentiation in a Shh-independent manner.
More Related Videos
09:49Quantitative Measurement of Relative Retinoic Acid Levels in E8.5 Embryos and Neurosphere Cultures Using the F9 RARE-Lacz Cell-based Reporter Assay
Published on: September 6, 2016
09:04Analysis of Retinoic Acid-induced Neural Differentiation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells in Two and Three-dimensional Embryoid Bodies
Published on: April 22, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Neurulation
Determination
RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins
Master Transcription Regulators