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Related Concept Videos

Hedgehog Signaling Pathway02:33

Hedgehog Signaling Pathway

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The Hedgehog gene (Hh) was first discovered due to its control of the growth of disorganized, hair-like bristles phenotype in Drosophila, much like hedgehog spines. Hh plays a crucial role in the development of organs and the maintenance of homeostasis in both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, while Drosophila has only one Hh protein, mammals have multiple functional Hedgehog proteins - Sonic (Shh), Desert (Dhh), and Indian Hedgehog (Ihh). All of these homologous proteins have adapted to...
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The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
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Notch signaling was first discovered in Drosophila melanogaster, where it is involved in cell lineage differentiation. Notch signaling regulates the maintenance and differentiation of intestinal stem cells or ISCs by controlling the expression of atonal homolog 1 or Atoh1. Atoh1 directs cells to differentiate into secretory cells.
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Determination01:51

Determination

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During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In...
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Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age01:09

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The upper and lower limb initially develops as a small bulge called a limb bud, which appears on the lateral side of the early embryo. The upper limb bud appears near the end of the fourth week of development, with the lower limb bud appearing shortly after.
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Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways01:41

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways

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Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Quantitative PCR-based Assay to Measure Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Cellular Model of Ciliogenesis
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Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Limb Development.

Cheryll Tickle1, Matthew Towers2

  • 1Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath Bath, UK.

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology
|March 16, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is a key morphogen in vertebrate limb development, specifying the antero-posterior axis. Understanding Shh signaling is crucial for limb formation and congenital defect research.

Keywords:
Sonic hedgehogchickdigitslimbmousepositional information

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is a secreted protein crucial for vertebrate limb development.
  • Shh is expressed in the limb bud's polarizing region, acting as a morphogen.
  • It specifies positional values along the antero-posterior axis and influences limb width.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the mechanisms by which Shh specifies antero-posterior positional values in limb buds.
  • To understand how Shh signaling integrates with embryonic growth.
  • To investigate the complex spatiotemporal regulation of Shh expression and its downstream effects.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of Shh gene expression and signaling pathways in chick and mouse embryos.
  • Investigating cis-regulatory elements controlling Shh expression.
  • Identifying downstream transcriptional targets and interacting transcription factors.

Main Results:

  • Shh acts as a polarizing region morphogen, specifying antero-posterior limb patterning.
  • Shh signaling controls limb bud width and apical ectodermal ridge length.
  • Both concentration-dependent (paracrine) and time-dependent (autocrine) Shh signaling mechanisms are involved.
  • Complex spatiotemporal regulation of Shh expression is mediated by cis-regulatory enhancers and transcription factors.

Conclusions:

  • Shh is a fundamental morphogen for establishing the antero-posterior axis of vertebrate limbs.
  • While downstream targets are known, the precise encoding and interpretation of Shh positional information remain areas for further research.
  • Dysregulation of Shh signaling is linked to congenital limb defects and evolutionary morphological diversity.