Int. J. Dev. Biol. 40: 453 - 461 (1996)

Vol 40, Issue 2

The LIM homeodomain protein Lim-1 is widely expressed in neural, neural crest and mesoderm derivatives in vertebrate development

Published: 1 April 1996

A A Karavanov, J P Saint-Jeannet, I Karavanova, M Taira and I B Dawid

Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, NICHD, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

Abstract

Polyclonal antibodies to Xlim-1 homeodomain protein of Xenopus laevis were used to study the developmental expression pattern of this protein in Xenopus, rat and mouse. Western blotting of embryo extracts injected with different Xlim-1 constructs confirmed the specificity of the antibody. Beginning at the gastrula stage, Xlim-1 protein was detected in three cell lineages: (i) notochord, (ii) pronephros and (iii) certain regions of the central nervous system, in agreement with earlier studies of the expression of Xlim-1 RNA (Taira et al., Development 120: 1525-1536, 1994a). In addition, several new locations of Xlim-1 expression were found, including the olfactory organ, retina, otic vesicle, dorsal root ganglia and adrenal gland. Similar expression patterns were seen for the Lim-1 protein in frog and rodent tissues. These observations implicate the Xlim-1 gene in the specification of multiple cell lineages, particularly within the nervous system, and emphasize the conserved nature of the role of this gene in different vertebrate animals.