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Updated: May 28, 2026

Facial Transplants in Xenopus laevis Embryos
Published on: March 26, 2014
Kazrin, and its binding partners ARVCF- and delta-catenin, are required for Xenopus laevis craniofacial development
Kyucheol Cho1, Moonsup Lee, Dongmin Gu
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Abstract:
The novel adaptor protein Kazrin associates with multifunctional entities including p120-subfamily members (ARVCF-, delta-, and p0071-catenin). Critical contributions of Kazrin to development or homeostasis are indicated with respect to ectoderm formation, integrity and keratinocyte differentiation, whereas its presence in varied tissues suggests broader roles. We find that Kazrin is maternally loaded, is expressed across development and becomes enriched in the forming head. Kazrin's potential contributions to craniofacial development were probed by means of knockdown in the prospective anterior neural region. Cartilaginous head structures as well as eyes on injected sides were reduced in size, with molecular markers suggesting an impact upon neural crest cell establishment and migration. Similar effects followed the depletion of ARVCF (or delta-catenin), with Kazrin:ARVCF functional interplay supported upon ARVCF partial rescue of Kazrin knockdown phenotypes. Thus, Kazrin and its associating ARVCF- and delta-catenins, are required to form craniofacial tissues originating from cranial neural crest and precordal plate.
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