One child in two hundred is born with limb deformities. Our understanding of the teleology of these defects, whether induced by taratogenes, caused by stochastic dysfunctions of the developmental program, or the result of congenital mutations, will require a deep understanding of the normal process of limb development. Many of the genes that are suspected of mediating the formation of limbs are being identified. Prominent among these genes are Hox, Fgfs, Wnts and Tbx genes. We are studying selected members of each of these gene families to determine their roles during limb development. Gene targeting in mouse embryo- derived stem cells provides the means for generating mice with designed modification in these genes, which include loss-of-function mutations, conditional mutations, gain-of-function mutations, lineage analysis of cells expressing these genes and gene swaps. The goal of this grant is to use gene targeting to undertake a systematic genetic analysis of these genes and thereby establish their roles, individually and in combination with each other, during limb development. With respect to the Hox genes, emphasis will be directed at determining their potential role in limb induction and patterning of the principal elements of the limb. With respect to Fgfs, our emphasis will be placed on the roles of Fgf4 and Fgf8 in maintaining the proximodistal outgrowth of the limb. Finally, we wish to determine which Wnts are selectively used in the formation of the fore- and hindlimb buds and further testing the hypothesis of whether Tbx5/4 are used to specify the identity of fore- and hindlimbs. Through epistasis and molecular genetic analysis, it is hoped that we will gain further insight on how members of these separate families of genes function together as a network to determine the overall structure of the limb.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award (R37)
Project #
5R37HD030701-18
Application #
8197043
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (NSS)
Program Officer
Javois, Lorette Claire
Project Start
1994-12-15
Project End
2013-11-30
Budget Start
2011-12-01
Budget End
2012-11-30
Support Year
18
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$392,096
Indirect Cost
$131,567
Name
University of Utah
Department
Genetics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
009095365
City
Salt Lake City
State
UT
Country
United States
Zip Code
84112
Makki, Nadja; Capecchi, Mario R (2012) Cardiovascular defects in a mouse model of HOXA1 syndrome. Hum Mol Genet 21:26-31
Yan, Kelley S; Chia, Luis A; Li, Xingnan et al. (2012) The intestinal stem cell markers Bmi1 and Lgr5 identify two functionally distinct populations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109:466-71
Boulet, Anne M; Capecchi, Mario R (2012) Signaling by FGF4 and FGF8 is required for axial elongation of the mouse embryo. Dev Biol 371:235-45
Makki, Nadja; Capecchi, Mario R (2011) Identification of novel Hoxa1 downstream targets regulating hindbrain, neural crest and inner ear development. Dev Biol 357:295-304
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Chen, Shau-Kwaun; Tvrdik, Petr; Peden, Erik et al. (2010) Hematopoietic origin of pathological grooming in Hoxb8 mutant mice. Cell 141:775-85
Jones, Kevin B; Piombo, Virginia; Searby, Charles et al. (2010) A mouse model of osteochondromagenesis from clonal inactivation of Ext1 in chondrocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107:2054-9
Makki, Nadja; Capecchi, Mario R (2010) Hoxa1 lineage tracing indicates a direct role for Hoxa1 in the development of the inner ear, the heart, and the third rhombomere. Dev Biol 341:499-509