Morphogen signalling articles from across Nature Portfolio

Morphogens are diffusible molecules that elicit signalling responses in surrounding cells in a concentration dependent manner. They modulate gene expression in a graded manner to provide positional information in developing embryos to ensure correct body patterning and formation of body structures both in vertebrate and in invertebrate organisms.

Latest Research and Reviews

Research
24 April 2023 | Open Access

High concentrations of soluble endoglin can inhibit BMP9 signaling in non-endothelial cells
- Clara Andersson-Rusch
- , Bin Liu
- & Wei Li
Scientific Reports 13, 6639
Research
06 April 2023 | Open Access

Intercellular exchange of Wnt ligands reduces cell population heterogeneity during embryogenesis

Neuromesodermal progenitor (NMP) cells produce and receive Wnt ligands. Here, the authors show that mutual intercellular exchange of Wnt ligands reduces heterogeneity between NMP cells and makes NMP populations robust to environmental stress.
- Yudai Hatakeyama
- , Nen Saito
- & Shinji Takada
Nature Communications 14, 1924
Research
03 February 2023 | Open Access

Visuomotor anomalies in achiasmatic mice expressing a transfer-defective Vax1 mutant
- Kwang Wook Min
- , Namsuk Kim
- & Jin Woo Kim
Experimental & Molecular Medicine 55, 385-400
Research
21 January 2023 | Open Access

Epithelial disruption drives mesendoderm differentiation in human pluripotent stem cells by enabling TGF-β protein sensing

Fate specification in the mammalian epiblast rely on complex interactions between morphogens and tissue organization. Here, the authors highlight epithelial integrity as a key determinant of TGF-β activity and a mechanism guiding morphogen sensing and spatial cell fate change.
- Thomas Legier
- , Diane Rattier
- & Rosanna Dono
Nature Communications 14, 349
Research
20 January 2023 | Open Access

Wnt4 and ephrinB2 instruct apical constriction via Dishevelled and non-canonical signaling

Apical constriction is known to be critical for neural tube closure, but the signals that induce this process have not been fully characterized. Here Yoon et al. identify a signaling complex that instructs actomyosin contractions during apical constriction and show that it is required for neural tube closure.
- Jaeho Yoon
- , Jian Sun
- & Ira O. Daar
Nature Communications 14, 337
Research
15 October 2022 | Open Access

Single-molecule tracking of Nodal and Lefty in live zebrafish embryos supports hindered diffusion model

Multiple models have been proposed for how diffusion is regulated to shape morphogen gradients. Here they use single molecule tracking of an activator-inhibitor signaling pair in a developing tissue to show how effective diffusivity is modulated in the extracellular space.
- Timo Kuhn
- , Amit N. Landge
- & J. Christof M. Gebhardt
Nature Communications 13, 6101

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News and Comment

Editorial | 14 August 2022

Turing patterns, 70 years later

On the 70th anniversary of Alan Turing’s seminal paper on morphogenesis, we look back at the history of the paper and its many applications.

Nature Computational Science 2, 463-464
News & Views | 12 May 2022

Defining the pathways of heart regeneration

Although cardiac cell therapy has been intensely studied, the high expectations are still an unmet goal. A study now characterizes the translational potential and mode of action of human ventricular progenitors (HVPs) derived from embryonic stem cells, as a source for cardiac cell therapy.
- Louk Theodoor Timmer
- & Eva van Rooij
Nature Cell Biology 24, 606-607
Research Highlights | 30 July 2020

Glypican shield for WNTs

A new study demonstrates that glypicans shield the palmitoleate on WNTs to enable their distribution in tissues.
- Paulina Strzyz
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 21, 499
News & Views | 30 July 2018

Shaping up with morphogen gradients

During embryo development, concentration gradients of signalling molecules instruct formation of different cell types. How these gradients adapt to variable embryo sizes to form a properly scaled individual remains elusive. A simple system of an activator and an inhibitor, with different diffusion properties, may give an answer.
- Laurence Garric
- & Jeroen Bakkers
Nature Cell Biology 20, 998-999
Research Highlights | 11 October 2017

BCL-2 proteins feed their own expression

Anti-apoptotic BCL-2 proteins can drive their own expression and promote cell survival by regulating Hedgehog signalling transcription activator GLI.
- Paulina Strzyz
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 18, 652-653
Research Highlights | 25 March 2016

Seeing is believing: Wnt3 localization in the gut epithelium

Wnt morphogens are notoriously elusive proteins. Thanks to a recent study published in Nature, Clevers and colleagues give us a first glimpse of a mammalian Wnt in action in the gut epithelium.
- Alex Gregorieff
- & Jeffrey L Wrana
Cell Research 26, 515-516

All News & Comment

Morphogen signalling articles from across Nature Portfolio

Latest Research and Reviews

High concentrations of soluble endoglin can inhibit BMP9 signaling in non-endothelial cells

Intercellular exchange of Wnt ligands reduces cell population heterogeneity during embryogenesis

Visuomotor anomalies in achiasmatic mice expressing a transfer-defective Vax1 mutant

Epithelial disruption drives mesendoderm differentiation in human pluripotent stem cells by enabling TGF-β protein sensing

Wnt4 and ephrinB2 instruct apical constriction via Dishevelled and non-canonical signaling

Single-molecule tracking of Nodal and Lefty in live zebrafish embryos supports hindered diffusion model

News and Comment

Turing patterns, 70 years later

Defining the pathways of heart regeneration

Glypican shield for WNTs

Shaping up with morphogen gradients

BCL-2 proteins feed their own expression

Seeing is believing: Wnt3 localization in the gut epithelium

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