hedgehog信号通路总结.docVIP

Controlled cell proliferation is a predominant theme in normal embryonic and post-embryonic development, and, in many instances, cell-type specification and cell proliferation are intimately coupled. Several secreted intercellular signaling proteins that behave as morphogens during pattern formation are also implicated in the regulation of the cell cycle. Hedgehogs (Hhs) are one such class of morphogens that regulate an enormous variety of developmental events in the fly and vertebrate embryo and plays a central role in several cancers. The vertebrate Hh family is represented by at least three members: Dhh (Desert Hh), Ihh (Indian Hh) and Shh (Sonic Hh), two Patched homologs, Ptc1 (Patched-1) and Ptc2 (Patched-2); and three homologs of Ci (Cubitus interruptus, a 155 kDa cytoplasmic zinc finger protein), Gli1, Gli2 and Gli3 (Ref.1). Shh is the most extensively characterized vertebrate homolog, and is involved in morphogenesis of several organs including the eye, hair and lungs. It acts as both a short-range, contact-dependent factor and as a long-range, diffusible morphogen. Shh genes are highly conserved and have been identified within a variety of species, including human, mouse, frog, fish, and chicken. In the human embryo, Shh is expressed in the notochord, the floorplate of the neural tube, the gut, and in the developing limbs. Dhh and Ihh play more restricted roles: Dhh acts in the regulation of spermatogenesis and organization of the perineurium, which ensheaths peripheral nerves, and Ihh in coordinating proliferation and maturation of chondrocytes during development of the endochondral skeleton. Hh signals act as morphogens to induce distinct cell fates at specific concentration thresholds. In Drosophila, Hh patterns the segment, wing, leg, eye, and regions of the fly brain either directly, or through the recruitment of other signaling factors such as Dpp (Decapentaplegic) and Wg (Wingless) (Ref.2). The Hh-signaling pathway comprises three main components: th