Click here to close Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a current version of Chrome, FireFox, or Safari.
XB-ART-24245
Dev Suppl 1992 Jan 01;:119-25.
Show Gene links Show Anatomy links

The role of intermediate filaments in early Xenopus development studied by antisense depletion of maternal mRNA.

Heasman J , Torpey N , Wylie C .


???displayArticle.abstract???
The effects of depleting a maternal cytokeratin mRNA on the developing embryo are described. Cytokeratins are members of the intermediate filament family of cytoskeletal proteins, and are expressed in a cortical network of the superficial cytoplasm of the oocyte. After fertilisation, a new cortical network is built up, which comes to occupy only the most superficial cells of the blastula. The maternal cytokeratin mRNA is abundantly translated, both during oogenesis, and during oocyte maturation and after fertilisation. Depletion of the mRNA results in depletion of the cortical filaments at the blastula stage and leads to gastrulation abnormalities. We discuss the various possible control experiments required for antisense oligo depletion studies and the implications of these results for cytokeratin function.

???displayArticle.pubmedLink??? 1284380

???displayArticle.grants??? [+]

Species referenced: Xenopus
Genes referenced: krt12.4