Hypothalamic sonic hedgehog is required for cell specification and proliferation of LHX3/LHX4 pituitary embryonic precursors.

ABSTRACT: Sonic hedgehog (SHH) is an essential morphogenetic signal that dictates cell fate decisions in several developing organs in mammals. In vitro data suggest that SHH is required to specify LHX3⁺/LHX4⁺ Rathke's pouch (RP) progenitor identity. However, in vivo studies have failed to reveal such a function, supporting instead a crucial role for SHH in promoting proliferation of these RP progenitors and for differentiation of pituitary cell types. Here, we have used a genetic approach to demonstrate that activation of the SHH pathway is necessary to induce LHX3⁺/LHX4⁺ RP identity in mouse embryos. First, we show that conditional deletion of Shh in the anterior hypothalamus results in a fully penetrant phenotype characterised by a c

SUBMITTER: Carreno G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5612255 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature