Limb development: the rise and fall of retinoic acid

Curr Biol. 2009 Jul 28;19(14):R558-61. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.017.

Abstract

Retinoic acid was thought to play a key instructive role during limb bud initiation and subsequent patterning. New results argue instead that its role is permissive: retinoic acid is essential only to antagonize early axial Fgf signals that otherwise inhibit the limb field.

Publication types

  • Comment
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Body Patterning / physiology*
  • Extremities / embryology*
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / physiology*
  • Models, Biological*
  • Signal Transduction / physiology*
  • Tretinoin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Tretinoin
  • Fibroblast Growth Factors