Pax6 controls progenitor cell identity and neuronal fate in response to graded Shh signaling
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Updated: Aug 3, 2026

Using Confocal Analysis of Xenopus laevis to Investigate Modulators of Wnt and Shh Morphogen Gradients
Published on: December 14, 2015
J Ericson1, P Rashbass, A Schedl
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA.
Abstract:
Distinct classes of motor neurons and ventral interneurons are generated by the graded signaling activity of Sonic hedgehog (Shh). Shh controls neuronal fate by establishing different progenitor cell populations in the ventral neural tube that are defined by the expression of Pax6 and Nkx2.2. Pax6 establishes distinct ventral progenitor cell populations and controls the identity of motor neurons and ventral interneurons, mediating graded Shh signaling in the ventral spinal cord and hindbrain.
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