Luisa Izzi, Martin Lévesque, Steves Morin, Dominique Laniel, Brian C Wilkes, Frédéric Mille, Robert S Krauss, Andrew P McMahon, Benjamin L Allen, Frédéric Charron
Hedgehog (Hh) proteins regulate important developmental processes, including cell proliferation and differentiation. Although Patched acts as the main Hh receptor in Drosophila, Hh signaling absolutely requires the additional Hh-binding proteins Ihog and Boi. Here we show that, unexpectedly, cerebellar granule neuron progenitors (CGNPs) lacking Boc and Cdon, the vertebrate orthologs of Ihog and Boi, still proliferate in response to Hh. This is because in their absence, Gas1, an Hh-binding protein not present in Drosophila, mediates Hh signaling...
June 14, 2011: Developmental Cell