Histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, affects gene expression patterns during morphogenesis of chicken limb buds in vivo.

Acetylation is one of the key chromatin modifications that control gene transcription during embryonic development and tumorigenesis. The types of genes sensitive to such modifications in vivo are not known to date. We investigated the expression of a number of genes involved in embryonic development after treatment with trichostatin A (TSA), a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, in the limbs of chicken embryos.

Expression of the avian gene cNOC2 encoding nucleolar complex associated protein 2 during embryonic development.

Genetic information that directs a cell during different phases of embryogenesis is locked up in the genome. Therein is contained the road map for growth, proliferation, differentiation and morphogenesis. The cellular transportation machinery plays a major role to ensure that all the components for transcription and translation are available at the right place at the right time.

BMPs restrict the position of premuscle masses in the limb buds by influencing Tcf4 expression.

Previous studies have shown the distally retreating source of Scatter factor/Hepatocyte growth factor (SF/HGF) can account for the distal migration of myogenic precursor cells in the limb bud mesenchyme. However, the normal expression pattern of Sf/Hgf alone does not explain the distribution of muscle precursor cells. Hence, the position of the dorsal and ventral premuscle masses suggests the presence of additional patterning factors.