Paired fins in vertebrate evolution and ontogeny.

The origin of paired appendages became one of the most important adaptations of vertebrates, allowing them to lead active lifestyles and explore a wide range of ecological niches. The basic form of paired appendages in evolution is the fins of fishes. The problem of paired appendages has attracted the attention of researchers for more than 150 years.

The Molecular Mechanism of Body Axis Induction in Lampreys May Differ from That in Amphibians.

Lamprey homologues of the classic embryonic inducer Noggin are similar in expression pattern and functional properties to Noggin homologues of jawed vertebrates. All genes of vertebrates apparently originated from a single ancestral gene as a result of genome duplications. , and of lampreys, like and of gnathostomes, demonstrate the ability to induce complete secondary axes with forebrain and eye structures when overexpressed in embryos.

Loss of noggin1, a classic embryonic inducer gene, in elasmobranchs.

Secreted proteins of the Noggin family serve as pivotal regulators of early development and cell differentiation in all multicellular animals, including vertebrates. Noggin1 was identified first among all Noggins. Moreover, it was described as the first known embryonic inducer specifically secreted by the Spemann organizer and capable of inducing a secondary body axis when expressed ectopically.

Three paralogues in lampreys and gnathostomes-brothers or cousins?

is a key regulator of the early development of the vertebrate forebrain and sensory organs. In this study, we describe for the first time three paralogues in lamprey, representative of one of two basally diverged lineages of vertebrates-the agnathans. We also first describe three genes in sterlet-representative of one of the evolutionarily ancient clades of gnathostomes.

Two-Channel Indirect-Gap Photoluminescence and Competition between the Conduction Band Valleys in Few-Layer MoS.

MoS is a two-dimensional layered transition metal dichalcogenide with unique electronic and optical properties. The fabrication of ultrathin MoS is vitally important, since interlayer interactions in its ultrathin varieties will become thickness-dependent, providing thickness-governed tunability and diverse applications of those properties. Unlike with a number of studies that have reported detailed information on direct bandgap emission from MoS monolayers, reliable experimental evidence for thickness-induced evolution or transformation of the indirect bandgap remains scarce.

Publisher Correction: Discovery of four Noggin genes in lampreys suggests two rounds of ancient genome duplication.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Discovery of four Noggin genes in lampreys suggests two rounds of ancient genome duplication.

The secreted protein Noggin1 was the first discovered natural embryonic inducer produced by cells of the Spemann organizer. Thereafter, it was shown that vertebrates have a whole family of Noggin genes with different expression patterns and functional properties. For example, Noggin1 and Noggin2 inhibit the activity of BMP, Nodal/Activin and Wnt-beta-catenin signalling, while Noggin4 cannot suppress BMP but specifically modulates Wnt signalling.

The expression of FoxG1 in the early development of the European river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis demonstrates significant heterochrony with that in other vertebrates.

FoxG1, a member of the Fox/Forkhead family of winged helix transcription factors, plays key roles in the induction and spatial compartmentalization of the telencephalon in vertebrates. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments have established FoxG1 as a maintenance factor for neural progenitors and a crucial player in the specification of the ventral telencephalon (subpallium). For the first time in evolution, the telencephalon appeared in the ancestors of vertebrates, including cyclostomes.

Agr2-interacting Prod1-like protein Tfp4 from Xenopus laevis is necessary for early forebrain and eye development as well as for the tadpole appendage regeneration.

The Agr family genes, Ag1, Agr2, and Agr3, encode for the thioredoxin domain containing secreted proteins and are specific only for vertebrates. These proteins are attracting increasing attention due to their involvement in many physiological and pathological processes, including exocrine secretion, cancer, regeneration of the body appendages, and the early brain development. At the same time, the mode by which Agrs regulate intracellular processes are poorly understood.

Effects of glucagon-like peptide 1 analogs in combination with insulin on myocardial infarct size in rats with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aim: To evaluate the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs (GLP-1a) combined with insulin on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in diabetic rats.

Methods: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was induced in male Wistar rats with streptozotocin (65 mg/kg) and verified using an oral glucose tolerance test. After anesthesia, the left coronary artery was occluded for 40 min followed by 80 min reperfusion.

Dielectric functions, chemical and atomic compositions of the near surface layers of implanted GaAs by In ions.

The surfaces of (100) GaAs were irradiated with In ions. The implanted samples were isobaric annealed at 800°C and then of dielectric function, the surface atomic concentrations of atoms and also the chemical composition of the near surface layers in these implanted semiconductor samples were obtained. The following investigation methods were used: spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry analyses (RBSA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in the study of the above mentioned quantities, respectively.

The presence of Anf/Hesx1 homeobox gene in lampreys suggests that it could play an important role in emergence of telencephalon.

Accumulated evidence indicates that the core genetic mechanisms regulating early patterning of the brain rudiment in vertebrates are very similar to those operating during development of the anterior region of invertebrate embryos. However, the mechanisms underlying the morphological differences between the elaborate vertebrate brain and its simpler invertebrate counterpart remain poorly understood. Recently, we hypothesized that the emergence of the most anterior unit of the vertebrate brain, the telencephalon, could be related to the appearance in vertebrates' ancestors of a unique homeobox gene, Anf/Hesx1(further Anf), which is absent from all invertebrates and regulates the earliest steps of telencephalon development in vertebrates.

[Secreted Protein Noggin4 Participates in the Formation of Forebrain Structures in Xenopus laevis by Inhibiting the Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signaling Pathway].

Noggin proteins are important regulators of the early development of the vertebrate neural system. Previously, it has been traditionally thought that vertebrates have only one noggin gene (Noggin1), whose main function is the inhibition of BMP signaling pathway during the formation of dorsoventral polarity in embryos. Then other proteins of this family were discovered, and the studies of Noggin2 protein showed that noggin proteins also participate in the modulation of Nodal/Activin and Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathways in the early development of amphibian head structures.

[The Point Mutation in NOGGIN2 Protein That Enhances Its Ability to Bind Activin].

Earlier we have revealed the ability of Noggin family proteins to bind a member of the TUF-β superfamily, ActivinB, and to repress the Activin-dependent Smad2 signaling cascade. In the present work we have characterized a mutant of the Xenopus laevis Noggin2, bearing the substitution W203R. We have shown that this point mutation enhances the affinity of Noggin2 to ActivinB, while weakens its affinity to BMP.

Noggin4 is a long-range inhibitor of Wnt8 signalling that regulates head development in Xenopus laevis.

Noggin4 is a Noggin family secreted protein whose molecular and physiological functions remain unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that in contrast to other Noggins, Xenopus laevis Noggin4 cannot antagonise BMP signalling; instead, it specifically binds to Wnt8 and inhibits the Wnt/β -catenin pathway. Live imaging demonstrated that Noggin4 diffusivity in embryonic tissues significantly exceeded that of other Noggins.

Association of leukoaraiosis with stroke recurrence within 5 years after initial stroke.

Background: Leukoaraiosis (LA) is closely associated with stroke. Despite the fact that LA has consistently been shown to predict development of recurrent stroke, prior studies on the association of LA and stroke subtypes have been unsatisfactory. In this study, we sought to identify whether LA contributes to the recurrence of certain subtypes of stroke at long term.

Noggin4 expression during chick embryonic development.

We describe here the expression pattern of Noggin4 during the early development of the chick embryo (Gallus gallus). The expression of this gene starts with the onset of gastrulation (stage HH4), in two bilateral bands along the primitive streak, with a local maximum around Hensen's node. By the end of gastrulation, Noggin4 transcripts are distributed diffusely throughout the epiblast, with the highest concentration in the head ectoderm.

Novel functions of Noggin proteins: inhibition of Activin/Nodal and Wnt signaling.

The secreted protein Noggin1 is an embryonic inducer that can sequester TGFβ cytokines of the BMP family with extremely high affinity. Owing to this function, ectopic Noggin1 can induce formation of the headless secondary body axis in Xenopus embryos. Here, we show that Noggin1 and its homolog Noggin2 can also bind, albeit less effectively, to ActivinB, Nodal/Xnrs and XWnt8, inactivation of which, together with BMP, is essential for the head induction.

Expression patterns of genes encoding small GTPases Ras-dva-1 and Ras-dva-2 in the Xenopus laevis tadpoles.

Small GTPases of the recently discovered Ras-dva family are specific to the Vertebrate phylum. In Xenopus laevis, Ras-dva-1 is expressed during gastrulation and neurulation in the anterior ectoderm where it regulates the early development of the forebrain and cranial placodes (Tereshina et al., 2006).

Should routine pyeloureterostomy be advocated in adult kidney transplantation? A prospective study of 283 recipients.

Purpose: Ureteroneocystostomy surgical techniques have been repeatedly debated in the medical literature, in contrast to pyeloureterostomy, which is merely considered a salvage procedure. We assessed urological complications and their management after routine pyeloureterostomy in adult kidney transplantation cases.

Materials And Methods: We performed a 2-center, uncontrolled, prospective study from January to December 2007.

Multiple noggins in vertebrate genome: cloning and expression of noggin2 and noggin4 in Xenopus laevis.

Noggin is a neural inducer secreted by cells of the Spemann organizer. A single noggin gene was identified until very recently in all tested vertebrates. The only exception was zebrafish, in which two close homologs of noggin, named noggin1 and noggin3, and one gene more diverged from them, noggin2, were cloned.

The homeodomain-containing transcription factor X-nkx-5.1 inhibits expression of the homeobox gene Xanf-1 during the Xenopus laevis forebrain development.

Expression of the homeobox gene Xanf-1 starts within the presumptive forebrain primordium of the Xenopus embryo at the midgastrula stage and is inhibited by the late neurula. Such stage-specific inhibition is essential for the normal development as the experimental prolongation of the Xanf-1 expression elicits severe brain abnormalities. To identify transcriptional regulators that are responsible for the Xanf-1 inhibition, we have used the yeast one-hybrid system and identified a novel Xenopus homeobox gene X-nkx-5.

Patterning the forebrain: FoxA4a/Pintallavis and Xvent2 determine the posterior limit of Xanf1 expression in the neural plate.

During early development of the nervous system in vertebrates, expression of the homeobox gene Anf/Hesx1/Rpx is restricted to the anterior neural plate subdomain corresponding to the presumptive forebrain. This expression is essential for normal forebrain development and ectopic expression of Xenopus Anf, Xanf1 (also known as Xanf-1), results in severe forebrain abnormalities. By use of transgenic embryos and a novel bi-colour reporter technique, we have identified a cis-regulatory element responsible for transcriptional repression of Xanf1 that defines its posterior expression limit within the neural plate.