Lipid-mediated reinforcement of FGF/MAPK signaling enables robust otic placode specification.

ABSTRACT: The formation of cranial placodes requires groups of ectodermal cells to interpret inductive signals in a robust and organized manner, yet how signaling responses are coordinated across a developing field remains incompletely understood. During otic placode specification, fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling must overcome intrinsic noise and rising inhibitory feedback to drive collective transcriptional responses, suggesting the existence of reinforcing regulatory events beyond ligand-receptor interactions and gene regulatory networks alone. Here we identify the secreted lipid-binding protein Apolipoprotein D (APOD) as an essential mediator of otic placode specification that links lipid-dependent regulation to FGF/MAPK signaling during early development. We find that APOD is str

SUBMITTER: Peralta SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12803122 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature