Elsevier

Developmental Biology

Volume 255, Issue 2, 15 March 2003, Pages 230-237
Developmental Biology

Regular article
q and 11 proteins mediate endothelin-1 signaling in neural crest-derived pharyngeal arch mesenchyme

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-1606(02)00097-0Get rights and content
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Abstract

Endothelin-A (ETA) is a G-protein-coupled receptor expressed in the neural crest-derived mesenchyme of the pharyngeal arches during craniofacial development. Targeted deletion of the ETA receptor or its ligand endothelin-1 (ET-1) causes cleft palate and hypoplasia of the mandible, otic cup, and tympanic ring. Previously we showed that q/11-null mice die around E11.0, whereas q(−/−)11(+/−) mice survive to birth with hypomorphic phenotypes similar to, but less severe than, ETA or ET-1-null mice. To determine whether ET-1 signaling is transduced by q/11 proteins, we examined the expression patterns of several ET-1 dependent and independent transcription factors in q/11-deficient embryos. Expression of genes encoding the ET-1-dependent transcription factors Dlx3, Dlx6, dHAND, and eHAND was specifically downregulated in the pharyngeal arches of q/11-deficient mice. In contrast, pharyngeal arch expression of the homeobox gene Msx1, which is not regulated by ET-1 signaling, was maintained in these embryos. We conclude that the q and 11 proteins serve as the intracellular mediators of ET-1 signaling in the pharyngeal arch mesenchyme.

Keywords

G-protein
Neural crest
Pharyngeal arches
Endothelin
q/11
Dlx3
Dlx6
dHAND/HAND2
eHAND/HAND1
Craniofacial development

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