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Updated: Apr 8, 2026

Three and Four-Dimensional Visualization and Analysis Approaches to Study Vertebrate Axial Elongation and Segmentation
Published on: February 28, 2021
Temporally coordinated signals progressively pattern the anteroposterior and dorsoventral body axes
Francesca B Tuazon1, Mary C Mullins1
1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, 1152 BRBII/III, 421 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6058, United States.
Abstract:
The vertebrate body plan is established through the precise spatiotemporal coordination of morphogen signaling pathways that pattern the anteroposterior (AP) and dorsoventral (DV) axes. Patterning along the AP axis is directed by posteriorizing signals Wnt, fibroblast growth factor (FGF), Nodal, and retinoic acid (RA), while patterning along the DV axis is directed by bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) ventralizing signals. This review addresses the current understanding of how Wnt, FGF, RA and BMP pattern distinct AP and DV cell fates during early development and how their signaling mechanisms are coordinated to concomitantly pattern AP and DV tissues.
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