We have isolated a Xenopus homeodomain sequence, XNkx-2.5, which shows significant
similarity to mouse Nkx-2.5 and to the Drosophila tinman gene product. In Drosophila, tinman …

Background Understanding stem cell differentiation is essential for the future design of cell
therapies. While retinoic acid (RA) is the most potent small molecule enhancer of skeletal …

Cardiac troponin I (troponin Ic) expression is restricted to the heart at all stages of Xenopus
development. Whole-mount in situ hybridization and Northern blot analysis indicates that …

Mammalian cells express at least two subtypes of equilibrative nucleoside transporters, ie
ENT1 and ENT2, which can be distinguished functionally by their sensitivity and resistance …

Individual cell shape changes are essential for epithelial morphogenesis. A transcriptional
network for epithelial cell shape change is emerging in Drosophila, but this area remains …

Interactions between the key regulatory genes of the cardiogenic pathway, including those
from the GATA and Nkx2 transcription factor families, are not well defined. Treating neurula-…

Retinoic acid is clearly important for the development of the heart. In this paper, we provide
evidence that retinoic acid is essential for multiple aspects of cardiogenesis in Xenopus by …

The surface of the Xenopus tadpole contains three specialized, transient cell types; the ciliated,
hatching gland, and cement gland cells. To distinguish whether the appearance of these …

Background Tetrahydrobiopterin is a cofactor of endothelial NO synthase ( eNOS ), which is
critical to embryonic heart development. We aimed to study the effects of sapropterin (Kuvan)…

An antibody that recognizes tyrosine hydroxylase can be used as a marker for hatching gland
cells in Xenopus embryos. Using this marker, we have shown that hatching gland cells are …