Relax promotes ectopic neuronal differentiation in Xenopus embryos

摘要

We previously isolated a novel rat cDNA encoding a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor named Relax, whose expression in the developing central nervous system is strictly limited to discrete domains containing precursor cells. The timing of Relax expression coincides with neuronal differentiation. To investigate the involvement of Relax in neurogenesis we tested whether Relax activated neural genes in the ectoderm by injecting Relax RNA into Xenopus embryos. We demonstrate that ectopic Relax expres- sion induces a persistent enlargement of the neural plate and converts presumptive epidermal cells into neurons.