Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Harkness, L.
Right arrow Articles by Baird, D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Harkness, L.
Right arrow Articles by Baird, D.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Human Reproduction Update, Vol.3, No.1 pp.35-57, 1997
© European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 1997; all rights reserved

Morphological and molecular characteristics of living human fetuses between Carnegie stages 7 and 23: immunolocalization of inhibin {alpha} and ßa subunits

LM Harkness0 and DT Baird

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Edinburgh, 37 Chalmers Street, Edinburgh EH3 9EW, UK 0 Corresponding author

Abstract

Transforming growth factor (TGF) is known to have the ability to modify mitogenic responses of tissues to other peptide growth factors and therefore may contribute to the rapid growth rate of an embryo. Throughout the TGF superfamily there is a similar fundamental molecular architecture. Included in this superfamily are inhibin A, activin A and activin B. It has been shown that activin is a powerful mesodermal inducing factor in the early embryo. The human embryo has shown localization of inhibin in the gonads after 16 weeks gestation but it has not been previously identified in earlier embryos. The inhibin-activin protein was found in a range of tissues including the liver stages 19-21 ({alpha}) and stages 19-22 (ß); oesophagus stages 19-22 ({alpha} and ß); stomach stages 21 and 22 ({alpha} and ß); gut stages 16-22 ({alpha}) and 21 and 22 (ß); pericardium stages 12-22 ({alpha} and ß); gonad stages 21 and 22 (ß) stage 22 ({alpha}); adrenal stages 19-22 ({alpha} and ß); urogenital system states 21 and 22 ({alpha} and ß); yolk sac stage 12 ({alpha} and ß); mesenchyme stages 16-22 ({alpha}); surface ectoderm stages 13-22 ({alpha}) and stages 16-22 (ßa); notochord stages 13-22 (ß) and stages 21 and 22 ({alpha}); nasal, trachea and bronchi stages 19-22 ({alpha} and ß) leading to speculation of the role of both subunits.

Keywords: activin/embryo/immunocytochemistry/inhibin/transforming growth factor


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.