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Updated: May 30, 2026
08:43
Loss- and Gain-of-function Approach to Investigate Early Cell Fate Determinants in Preimplantation Mouse Embryos
Published on: June 6, 2016
Neogenin may functionally substitute for Dcc in chicken.
Keith Dai Phan1, Louis-Philippe Croteau, Joseph Wai Keung Kam
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
Plos One
|July 23, 2011
Summary
Chicken neogenin may functionally replace Deleted in colorectal carcinoma (Dcc) in avian spinal cord development. This suggests neogenin is functionally equivalent to Dcc in chicks, despite Dcc
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Deleted in colorectal carcinoma (Dcc) is a crucial receptor for netrin-mediated axon guidance.
- A Dcc homolog has not been identified in chickens, questioning its role in avian development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if neogenin, a related protein, can functionally substitute for Dcc in the developing chicken spinal cord.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of gene expression patterns.
- RNA interference to assess the function of chicken neogenin.
- Phenotypic analysis of commissural axon trajectories.
Main Results:
- Chicken neogenin exhibits a composite expression pattern mirroring both rodent Dcc and neogenin.
- Loss of chicken neogenin via RNA interference disrupts commissural axon guidance.
- Mouse neogenin deficiency does not affect axon trajectory, unlike in chickens.
Conclusions:
- Chicken neogenin functionally substitutes for Dcc in the developing avian spinal cord.
- Chicken neogenin is functionally equivalent to rodent Dcc, playing a vital role in axon guidance.
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