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Regulation of ERK activity duration by Sprouty contributes to dorsoventral patterning

Nature Cell Biology volume 11, pages 106–109 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Distinct modes of ERK activation, sustained or transient, are essential for cell fate decision in cultured cells. Here we show that Xenopus laevis Sprouty2 (XSpry2) controls the duration of ERK activity and thereby contributes to the establishment of dorsoventral patterning during mesoderm formation. Furthermore, Xenopus Fos (XFos) can function as a molecular sensor of the ERK signalling duration in Xenopus embryos. This work provides the first evidence that regulating the duration of ERK activity contributes to cell fate decisions in the context of the whole organism.

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Figure 1: XSpry2 affects expression of mesodermal genes by regulating the duration of ERK activation.
Figure 2: Fos functions as a molecular sensor for ERK signal duration in Xenopus embryos.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Y. Sasai, H. Kuroda, S. Kusakabe, M. Itoh and T. Ishitani for helpful discussion and suggestions. This research was supported by grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (to K.M., H.H. and E.N.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, and SORST, JST, Chikusaku, 464-8602, Nagoya, Japan

    Hiroshi Hanafusa & Kunihiro Matsumoto

  2. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, 606-8502, Kyoto, Japan

    Eisuke Nishida

Authors
  1. Hiroshi Hanafusa
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  2. Kunihiro Matsumoto
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  3. Eisuke Nishida
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Contributions

H.H. designed and performed the experiments; H.H., K.M. and E.N. analysed the data and wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Kunihiro Matsumoto or Eisuke Nishida.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Hanafusa, H., Matsumoto, K. & Nishida, E. Regulation of ERK activity duration by Sprouty contributes to dorsoventral patterning. Nat Cell Biol 11, 106–109 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1820

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