{"database":"GEO","file_versions":[{"headers":{"Content-Type":["application/json"]},"body":{"files":{"Other":["ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/series/GSE330nnn/GSE330857/"]},"type":"primary"},"statusCode":"OK","statusCodeValue":200}],"scores":null,"additional":{"omics_type":["Transcriptomics"],"species":["Xenopus laevis"],"gds_type":["Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE330857"],"repository":["GEO"],"entry_type":["GSE"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Signaling through RXRβ and its agonist, bexarotene, promotes neuron formation in Xenopus laevis embryos","description":"Retinoic acid, acting through RAR/RXR nuclear receptors, is required for neuronal differentiation in Xenopus laevis. Bexarotene, characterised as a pan-RXR agonist, reduces the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in mouse models by clearing amyloid plaque and by promoting neurogenesis. In this paper, we show that RXR-initiated bexarotene signaling generates additional neurons both during normal Xenopus laevis development and in ectodermal explants in which BMP- signaling is inhibited. Differential gene expression between ectodermal explants taken from uninjected and embryos co-injected with mRNA that expresses Noggin, a BMP antagonist, and RXRβ identifies genes mediating change from an epidermal to a neural fate. The explants express genes associated with an anterior neural, but not neuronal fate. The addition of bexarotene to equivalent co-injected explants activates genes that promote neuronal differentiation and posterior character, including genes of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Xenopus ectodermal explants therefore provide a simple and efficient tool to identify novel retinoid agonists that promote neuronal differentiation. The genes expressed in response to bexarotene are consistent with a pathway to neuronal differentiation allied to standard retinoid signalling.","dates":{"publication":"2026/06/18"},"accession":"GSE330857","cross_references":{"GSM":["GSM9733778","GSM9733777","GSM9733779","GSM9733785","GSM9733784","GSM9733781","GSM9733780","GSM9733783","GSM9733782"],"GPL":["35244"],"GSE":["330857"],"taxon":["Xenopus laevis"]}}