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Review
. 1999 Jun;10(3):311-7.
doi: 10.1006/scdb.1999.0307.

Activin as a morphogen in Xenopus mesoderm induction

N McDowell  1 , J B Gurdon
Affiliations
Review

Activin as a morphogen in Xenopus mesoderm induction

N McDowell et al. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 1999 Jun.

Abstract

Activin, a member of the Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGF-beta) superfamily, can behave as a morphogen in cells of the early Xenopus embryo by inducing a range of mesodermal genes in a concentration-dependent manner. This review examines the behaviour of activin as it forms a morphogen gradient. It also discusses how a cell can perceive its position in a concentration gradient in order to activate appropriate mesodermal gene responses.

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