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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

A Microfluidics Approach for the Functional Investigation of Signaling Oscillations Governing Somitogenesis
Published on: March 19, 2021
Negative feedback loop formed by Lunatic fringe and Hes7 controls their oscillatory expression during somitogenesis
Jun Chen1, Liang Kang, Nian Zhang
1Laboratory of Developmental Genetics, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503, USA.
Abstract:
Recent studies show that the cyclic expression of Lfng in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM) is controlled at the transcription level by Notch signal through the CBF1 binding site for activation and periodic repression on the Lfng promoter. Here we provide genetic evidence that the oscillatory expression is controlled by a negative feedback mechanism. We also show that Hes7, another cyclically expressed protein, can bind to the N-boxes on both Lfng and its own promoters and repress their activity. In addition, we demonstrate that the 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR) is important for rapid degradation of Lfng mRNA.
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