Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 14, 2025

Author Spotlight: Establishing CENP-E Knockout HeLa Cells – A Novel Approach to Study Kinesin-7 CENP-E Biology and its Inhibitors
11:49

Author Spotlight: Establishing CENP-E Knockout HeLa Cells – A Novel Approach to Study Kinesin-7 CENP-E Biology and its Inhibitors

Published on: June 23, 2023

980

Centrosomal protein FOR20 knockout mice display embryonic lethality and left-right patterning defects

Zhangqi Xu1, Min Liu1, Cheng Gao1

  • 1Department of Cell Biology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.

FEBS Letters
|March 9, 2021
PubMed

Insights

The centrosomal protein FOR20 is essential for mammalian embryonic development. Its absence causes embryonic lethality, impaired left-right patterning, and disrupted angiogenesis, highlighting its critical role.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Centrosomal protein FOR20 is known to be vital for ciliogenesis, cell migration, and cell cycle.
  • The specific role of FOR20 in mammalian embryonic development has not been previously elucidated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the in vivo function of the For20 gene during mammalian embryonic development.

Main Methods:

  • Generation of For20 homozygous knockout mice using gene targeting.
  • Analysis of embryonic development, left-right patterning, cilia formation, and angiogenesis in knockout and heterozygous mice.

Main Results:

  • Homozygous knockout of For20 results in embryonic growth arrest and lethality during gestation.
  • Heterozygous For20 knockout mice exhibit no apparent developmental defects.
  • Absence of For20 leads to impaired left-right patterning, reduced cilia in the embryonic node, and disrupted angiogenesis in both yolk sacs and embryos.

Conclusions:

  • FOR20 plays a critical and essential role in early mammalian embryogenesis.
  • The gene is indispensable for normal embryonic development, including proper patterning and vascularization.
Keywords:
FOR20angiogenesisciliaembryonic lethalityleft-right patterningmouse embryogenesis

More Related Videos

Imaging Centrosomes in Fly Testes09:41

Imaging Centrosomes in Fly Testes

Published on: September 20, 2013

16.3K
Quantitative Analysis of Protein Expression to Study Lineage Specification in Mouse Preimplantation Embryos11:25

Quantitative Analysis of Protein Expression to Study Lineage Specification in Mouse Preimplantation Embryos

Published on: February 22, 2016

11.1K

Related Concept Videos

Centrosome Duplication02:25

Centrosome Duplication

The primary microtubule organizing center (MTOC) in animal cells is the centrosome. A centrosome has two cylindrical centrioles at its core. Each centriole consists of nine sets of three microtubules held together by proteins. The centrioles are positioned at right angles to each other and surrounded by a shapeless protein cloud called the pericentriolar matrix, or pericentriolar material (PCM).
To ensure that each daughter cell receives a centrosome after cell division, centrosome duplication...
4.3K
In-vitro Mutagenesis01:16

In-vitro Mutagenesis

To learn more about the function of a gene, researchers can observe what happens when the gene is inactivated or “knocked out,” by creating genetically engineered knockout animals. Knockout mice have been particularly useful as models for human diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes.
15.6K