Gene expression profile of Myf5-Cre;Smad4flox/flox mutant

We investigated Smad4-mediated TGF-beta signaling in the development of occipital somite-derived myogenic progenitors during tongue morphogenesis by comparing the transcriptomes of tongue derived from Myf5-Cre;Smad4flox/flox mutant and Myf5-Cre;Smad4flox/+ control mice at day E13.5. Based on gene expression profiles and functional studies, we elucidated the influences Smad4 activity and TGF-beta signaling have on the gene expression profiles underlying tongue development. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that TGF-beta-Smad4-FGF6 signaling cascade plays a crucial role in myogenic cell fate determination and lineage progression during tongue myogenesis. We obtained RNA samples from tongue tissues of mutant and control mouse embryos (C57BL/6J) at day E13.5 RNA and subjected them to analysis on Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Arrays.本研究以胚胎发育第13.5天（E13.5）的Myf5-Cre;Smad4flox/flox突变型与Myf5-Cre;Smad4flox/+对照型小鼠的舌组织转录组（transcriptome）为比较对象，探究舌形态发生（tongue morphogenesis）过程中，由Smad4蛋白（Smad4）介导的转化生长因子β（TGF-β）信号通路在枕体节（occipital somite）来源肌源性祖细胞（myogenic progenitors）发育中的调控作用。基于基因表达谱与功能实验结果，本研究阐明了Smad4活性与TGF-β信号通路对舌发育相关基因表达谱的影响。本研究数据支持如下假说：TGF-β-Smad4-成纤维细胞生长因子6（FGF6）信号级联反应在舌肌发生过程中，对肌细胞命运决定与谱系进展发挥关键调控作用。我们于胚胎发育第13.5天，从C57BL/6J品系突变型与对照型小鼠的舌组织中获取RNA样本，并将其在Affymetrix GeneChip小鼠基因组430 2.0阵列（Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Genome 430 2.0 Arrays）上进行转录组分析。