Scientists explain how morphogens work

Morphogens are molecules that play a role in the development of organs

Scientists at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center believe they have answered some critical questions that address how signaling molecules, called morphogens, work. Morphogens are secreting signaling molecules that play a key role in the formation of the shape and size of organs. For example, these molecules play a role in determining the bean-like shape of human kidneys. But when these molecules malfunction, they can lead to organ defects and cancers. This study provides insights into the mechanisms of organogenesis and could have implications for treating organ defects and cancers.

For years scientists at Cincinnati Children’s and elsewhere have sought to determine how morphogens work. In a new study published in the October 15 issue of the journal Cell, Xinhua Lin, PhD, an assistant professor of developmental biology at Cincinnati Children’s, concluded that morphogens work by “diffusion.” “These findings provide new insight into the understanding of the mechanisms that control the function of morphogens,” Lin said. “In order to treat diseases related with morphogen malfunctions, scientists must first understand the mechanisms that trigger diseases. This understanding can lead to new insight into the possibility of developing new strategies to treat related diseases.”

There are several groups of morphogens, but in his new paper, Dr. Lin focuses on TGF beta family molecules that function as morphogens. His interest is in learning how the TGF beta morphogen works.

Developmental biologists have considered and tested several theories that could explain how morphogens work. These theories include extracellular diffusion and transcytosis. In extracellular diffusion, it is suggested that morphogens move across cells by traveling across the surface of cells. Alternatively, the transcytosis model proposes that cells transfer morphogen molecules through endocytosis, which is the incorporation of substances into a cell by pinching off of the plasma membrane. The Lin study is based on the fruit fly model (Drosophila). He and his colleagues studied the fruit fly protein called Decapentaplegic (Dpp). Dpp is a morphogen molecule that is similar in structure to the human TGF beta protein.

Dpp functions as a morphogen that is instrumental in forming the wings of a fruit fly. The Lin lab demonstrated that Dpp morphogen molecules are mainly distributed on the cell surface, which suggests that Dpp morphogen moves by an extracellular diffusion mechanism. To prove this hypothesis, Lin and colleagues blocked cell endocytosis and examined Dpp morphogen movement. They found that inhibiting endocytosis disrupts the cell’s ability to transduce Dpp signaling, but does not block Dpp movement across cells.

This experiment allowed researchers to distinguish the role of endocytosis in Dpp signaling activity from Dpp movement, providing evidence that endocytosis is not required for Dpp morphogen movement, albeit it is essential for its signaling activity.

Media Contact

Amy Reyes EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.cchmc.org

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors