Gli3 utilizes Hand2 to synergistically regulate tissue-specific transcriptional networks.

Despite a common understanding that Gli TFs are utilized to convey a Hh morphogen gradient, genetic analyses suggest craniofacial development does not completely fit this paradigm. Using the mouse model (), we demonstrated that rather than being driven by a Hh threshold, robust Gli3 transcriptional activity during skeletal and glossal development required interaction with the basic helix-loop-helix TF Hand2. Not only did genetic and expression data support a co-factorial relationship, but genomic analysis revealed that Gli3 and Hand2 were enriched at regulatory elements for genes essential for mandibular patterning and development.

Impaired neural differentiation and glymphatic CSF flow in the rat model of neonatal hydrocephalus: genetic interaction with .

Neonatal hydrocephalus affects about one child per 1000 births and is a major congenital brain abnormality. We previously discovered a gene mutation within the coiled-coil domain-containing 39 () gene, which causes the () phenotype in mice due to lack of ependymal-cilia-mediated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow. In this study, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to introduce the gene mutation into rats, which are more suitable for imaging and surgical experiments.