The long term goal of this project is to understand how an important family of signaling ligands, called Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs), control a wide spectrum of cell biological behaviors such as proliferation, cell death, migration, stem cell maintenance and gene expression. In particular we use complex mouse genetics to understand the role of FGF signaling in mesodermal lineages with a special emphasis on extension of the body axis and formation of somites (segmented mesodermal segments that are the building blocks of vertebrate muscle, dermis and vertebral bodies). Our work has made clear that genetic redundancy is an important aspect of this biology;therefore all work in this project emerges from an effort to comprehensively characterize the genetic redundancy of FGF signaling in the mesodermal lineage. Such work is relevant to many cases of cancer where more than one FGF gene may be damaged. To achieve this, we have generated and characterized important Cre mouse lines, which are tools that allow the control of gene expression in the early embryo. These include TCre (expressed in the early emerging nascent mesoderm), TCreERT2 (activatable in emerging nascent mesoderm at all embryonic stages) and Tbx4-Cre (expressed in a posterior mesodermal domain that includes the allantois, hindlimb, and external genitalia. TCre in particular has had a major impact on the field, being essential in over 20 publications. Besides providing the mouse genetics community with valuable mouse lines, this project has yielded papers that document our major insights regarding FGF signaling in the early embryo. We published that Fgf8 not required for somitogenesis, although a body of high profile work had placed it in a central position in current models. However, in collaboration with Alan Perantoni, we demonstrated that Fgf8 was essential for development of the kidney and male reproductive tract. We showed that Fgf8, together with Fgf4, are required for essential aspects of somitogenesis: expression of oscillating gene domains, WNT pathway genes and markers of undifferentiated presomitic mesoderm. Importantly, we demonstrated the premature differentiation of the entire presomitic mesoderm. By examining similar mutants in which we genetically restored WNT signaling, we demonstrated that FGF signaling operates independently of WNT signaling in this process. This functional redundancy that we uncovered has implications for cancer as both FGFs have been found to be aberrantly active in testicular tumors. Furthermore this redundancy has implications for evolution as the same FGFs play compensatory roles in limb development. We are continuing to study genetic redundancy in FGF signaling in several aspects of embryonic development. For example, we are investigating the role of Fgf3 in termination of the embryonic axis. We are investigating the role of Fgf4 and Fgf8 in the differentiation of the somite into its derivative lineages (muscle and bone). In another part of this project, we are studying the role of these Fgfs in development of the allantois, a tissue that gives rise to the placental blood vessels and the umbilical cord. In human, failure of this tissue to develop properly underlies many aspects of pregnancy loss.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Investigator-Initiated Intramural Research Projects (ZIA)
Project #
1ZIABC010338-14
Application #
8763081
Study Section
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
14
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$393,865
Indirect Cost
Name
National Cancer Institute Division of Basic Sciences
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
State
Country
Zip Code
Ulmer, Bärbel; Tingler, Melanie; Kurz, Sabrina et al. (2017) A novel role of the organizer gene Goosecoid as an inhibitor of Wnt/PCP-mediated convergent extension in Xenopus and mouse. Sci Rep 7:43010
Morales, Aixa V; Espeso-Gil, Sergio; Ocaña, Inmaculada et al. (2016) FGF signaling enhances a sonic hedgehog negative feedback loop at the initiation of spinal cord ventral patterning. Dev Neurobiol 76:956-71
Hung, Irene H; Schoenwolf, Gary C; Lewandoski, Mark et al. (2016) A combined series of Fgf9 and Fgf18 mutant alleles identifies unique and redundant roles in skeletal development. Dev Biol 411:72-84
Anderson, Matthew J; Schimmang, Thomas; Lewandoski, Mark (2016) An FGF3-BMP Signaling Axis Regulates Caudal Neural Tube Closure, Neural Crest Specification and Anterior-Posterior Axis Extension. PLoS Genet 12:e1006018
Anderson, Matthew J; Southon, Eileen; Tessarollo, Lino et al. (2015) Fgf3-Fgf4-cis: A new mouse line for studying Fgf functions during mouse development. Genesis :
Cunningham, Thomas J; Brade, Thomas; Sandell, Lisa L et al. (2015) Retinoic Acid Activity in Undifferentiated Neural Progenitors Is Sufficient to Fulfill Its Role in Restricting Fgf8 Expression for Somitogenesis. PLoS One 10:e0137894
Yun, Kangsun; Ajima, Rieko; Sharma, Nirmala et al. (2014) Non-canonical Wnt5a/Ror2 signaling regulates kidney morphogenesis by controlling intermediate mesoderm extension. Hum Mol Genet 23:6807-14
Anderson, Matthew J; Naiche, L A; Wilson, Catherine P et al. (2013) TCreERT2, a transgenic mouse line for temporal control of Cre-mediated recombination in lineages emerging from the primitive streak or tail bud. PLoS One 8:e62479
Sauer, Stephan; Burkett, Sandra S; Lewandoski, Mark et al. (2013) A CO-FISH assay to assess sister chromatid segregation patterns in mitosis of mouse embryonic stem cells. Chromosome Res 21:311-28
Williams, Margot; Burdsal, Carol; Periasamy, Ammasi et al. (2012) Mouse primitive streak forms in situ by initiation of epithelial to mesenchymal transition without migration of a cell population. Dev Dyn 241:270-83

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