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Requirements for FGF3 and FGF10 during inner ear formation
Yolanda Alvarez1, Maria Teresa Alonso, Victor Vendrell
1Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Falkenried 94, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany.
Development (Cambridge, England)
|November 19, 2003
Summary
Fibroblast growth factor 3 (FGF3) and FGF10 play redundant roles in inner ear development. Double mutant mice lacking both FGF3 and FGF10 exhibit severely reduced otic vesicles, indicating their combined importance for hindbrain signaling.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
- Otolaryngology
Background:
- Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are crucial for vertebrate development.
- FGF3 is known to be involved in inner ear development across various species.
- Previous studies on Fgf3 mutants in mice showed severe defects, but new alleles revealed unexpected results.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the precise roles of FGF3 and other FGF family members in murine inner ear formation.
- To clarify the functional involvement of FGFs during otic vesicle development using loss- and gain-of-function experiments.
Main Methods:
- Generation of a new mutant allele for FGF3 lacking its entire coding region.
- Ectopic expression of FGF10 in transgenic mice hindbrain.
- Creation of double mutant mice for FGF3 and FGF10.
- Expression analysis of FGF10 during mouse embryogenesis.
Main Results:
- A novel FGF3 mutant allele did not result in severe inner ear defects, suggesting functional redundancy.
- Ectopic FGF10 expression induced ectopic vesicles expressing otic markers.
- FGF10 expression patterns overlapped with FGF3 in the developing hindbrain.
- Double mutant mice for FGF3 and FGF10 displayed severely reduced otic vesicles.
Conclusions:
- FGF3 and FGF10 exhibit redundant roles in otic vesicle formation.
- These FGFs act in combination as neural signals essential for inner ear development.
- The findings highlight the complex interplay of FGF signaling in vertebrate organogenesis.