Abstract
The formation of a little finger at one edge of the hand and a thumb at the other is a prime example of patterning in embryonic development. Digits are good markers for position along the antero-posterior (a-p) axis of a limb. The chick wing in which three digits develop has provided an excellent experimental model for analyzing the mechanisms involved in producing the pattern across the a-p axis (Saunders & Gasseling, 1968; Tickle et al., 1975). The character of a digit appears to depend on distance from the polarizing region, a small group of mesenchyme cells at the posterior edge of the limb bud. When a polarizing region is grafted to the anterior margin of a chick wing bud, a mirror-image symmetrical pattern of digits, 432234 develops. Anterior cells now form posterior structures in response to a signal from the polarizing region cells. Local application of all-trans-retinoic acid, a vitamin A derivative, to the chick wing bud can reproduce the effects of grafts of polarizing region tissue (Tickle et al., 1982; Summerbell, 1984). This finding has opened up a new avenue into the cellular and molecular basis of limb patterning and morphogenesis.
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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Tickle, C. (1991). Retinoic Acid and Limb Patterning and Morphogenesis. In: Hinchliffe, J.R., Hurle, J.M., Summerbell, D. (eds) Developmental Patterning of the Vertebrate Limb. NATO ASI Series, vol 205. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3310-8_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3310-8_20
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