TBX1-FGF11 as a novel axis governing limb development. TBX1-FGF11 as a novel axis governing limb development

Although intensively studied, the gene networks regulating limb development is still incomplete. Indeed, efforts to decipher the genetic and transcriptional control of limb formation rely mainly on transcriptome approaches obtained from embryos collected 0.5 or 1 day apart from E9.5 to E13.5. This approach identified gene networks tightly regulated during limb morphogenesis as well as novel genes possibly involved in these networks. However, given the complexity and speed of the underlying molecular processes at these stages, relying on time points 1 or even 0.5 day apart limits our ability to capture regulatory changes taking place at a faster pace, and to identify the factors on which they depend. To obtain a comprehensive view of the limb developmental progression at the molecular level, we used the roller system to culture E10.5 and E12.5 mouse embryos over a 6h time window and performed a microarray analysis (Affymetrix GeneChip® Mouse Exon 1.0 ST Arrays) on the collected samples Overall design: The forelimbs of E10.5 from non-cultured mouse embryos and the forelimbs from E10.5 and E12.5 mouse embryos cultured for 1, 3 or 6 hours were collected for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix GeneChip® Mouse Exon 1.0 ST Arrays according to Affymetrix recommendations.