Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 12, 2025
07:18
Author Spotlight: Manipulating Signaling in Zebrafish Embryos to Decode Cell Fate Decisions
Published on: October 27, 2023
2.7K
Nodal Signaling: A Paradigm for TGFβ Signaling in Embryonic Development
Jakob El Kholtei1,2, Mireia Codina-Tobias1, Alexander F Schier1,2
1Biozentrum, Universität Basel, Basel, Switzerland;
Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology
|August 8, 2025
Summary
Nodal signaling, a key pathway in embryonic development, regulates cell fate and tissue patterning through complex mechanisms. Further research is needed to fully understand how Nodal signaling controls gene expression and tissue formation in vertebrates.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Nodal signaling molecules are TGFβ family ligands critical for bilaterian embryonic development.
- They regulate mesoderm/endoderm specification, body patterning, left-right asymmetry, and pluripotency.
- Nodal acts as a morphogen utilizing multiple patterning mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the conserved developmental functions of Nodal signaling in vertebrates.
- To clarify the mechanisms underlying Nodal-induced transcriptional responses.
- To understand how Nodal signaling patterns embryonic tissues.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Nodal signaling pathways.
- Investigating gene regulatory networks.
- Studying morphogen dynamics in embryonic development.
Main Results:
- Nodal signaling activates diverse target genes involved in cell specification and morphogenesis.
- Nodal's effects are tissue-specific and involve interactions with other signaling pathways.
- Concentration-dependent effects, feedback, and reaction-diffusion are key patterning mechanisms.
Conclusions:
- Nodal signaling is essential for conserved developmental processes across vertebrates.
- Understanding Nodal's mechanisms is crucial for developmental biology.
- Further research is required to fully map Nodal's transcriptional control and tissue patterning roles.
Keywords:
NodalTGFβembryonic developmentendodermgastrulationleft-right asymmetrymesodermmorphogenpatterningpluripotencysignalingMore Related Videos
08:10Using Confocal Analysis of Xenopus laevis to Investigate Modulators of Wnt and Shh Morphogen Gradients
Published on: December 14, 2015
11.5K
11:48Grafting of Beads into Developing Chicken Embryo Limbs to Identify Signal Transduction Pathways Affecting Gene Expression
Published on: January 17, 2016
9.0K
Related Concept Videos
01:16TGF - β Signaling Pathway
7.6K
The TGF-β signaling pathway regulates cell growth, differentiation, adhesion, motility, and development. TGF-β ligands that induce TGF-β signaling are synthesized in their latent form. Several proteases or cell surface receptors such as integrins act upon the latent form, releasing the active ligand. There are three types of mammalian TGF-βs: (TGF-β1, TGF-β2, and TGF-β3) that bind as homodimers or heterodimers to TGF-β receptors. The TGF-β receptors...
7.6K
03:14Notch Signaling Pathway
4.4K
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.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...
4.4K
01:41Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
7.4K
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...
7.4K
01:12Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal
2.2K
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.
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...
2.2K
02:33Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
7.5K
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...
7.5K
01:51Determination
19.1K
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...
19.1K