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Published on: February 2, 2016
XRASGRP2 expression during early development of Xenopus embryos
Kentaro Nagamine1, Akira Matsuda, Makoto Asashima
1Laboratory of Biochemistry, Hiroshima International University, 5-1-1 Hirokoshingai, Kure, Hiroshima 737-0112, Japan. k-nagami@ps.hirokoku-u.ac.jp
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
|June 10, 2008
Summary
Xenopus RASGRP2 (XRASGRP2) is crucial for blood and endothelial cell formation during embryogenesis. This finding highlights XRASGRP2
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Molecular biology
- Cell biology
Background:
- Previous DNA microarray screening identified XRASGRP2 from Xenopus animal cap cells.
- XRASGRP2 shows homology to human RASGRP2, involved in Ras and Rap protein regulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the expression pattern of xrasgrp2 during Xenopus embryogenesis.
- To investigate the role of XRASGRP2 in angiogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Stage-specific PCR analysis to determine mRNA expression timing.
- Whole-mount in situ hybridization to localize mRNA.
- Loss-of-function analysis using antisense morpholino oligonucleotides.
Main Results:
- xrasgrp2 mRNA expression begins after stage 24 in Xenopus embryos.
- XRASGRP2 mRNA is localized to the embryonic vascular region.
- Inhibition of xrasgrp2 translation significantly reduced blood and endothelial cell formation.
Conclusions:
- XRASGRP2 plays a critical role in embryonic angiogenesis in Xenopus.
- The study identifies a novel function for XRASGRP2 in vascular development.
