Int. J. Dev. Biol. 58: 841 - 849 (2014)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.140270sk

Vol 58, Issue 10-11-12

Special Issue: Developmental Herpetology

Comparative expression analysis of cysteine-rich intestinal protein family members crip1, 2 and 3 during Xenopus laevis embryogenesis

Published: 2 July 2015

Annemarie Hempel^1,2 and Susanne J. Kühl*^,1

¹Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and ² International Graduate School in Molecular Medicine Ulm, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

Abstract

Members of the cysteine-rich intestinal protein (Crip) family belong to the group 2 LIM proteins. Crip proteins are widely expressed in adult mammals but their expression profile and function during embryonic development are still mostly unknown. In this study, we have described for the first time the spatio-temporal expression pattern of the three family members crip1, crip2 and crip3 during Xenopus laevis embryogenesis by RT-PCR and whole mount in situ hybridization approaches. We observed that all three genes are expressed in the pronephros, branchial arches and the eye. Furthermore, crip1 transcripts could be visualized in the developing cranial ganglia and neural tube. In contrast, crip2 could be detected in the cardiovascular system, the brain and the neural tube while crip3 was expressed in the cranial ganglions and the heart. Based on these findings, we suggest that each crip family member may play an important role during embryonic development.

Keywords

Xenopus laevis, cystein-rich protein, crip1-3, LIM