Expression of vinexin alpha in the dorsal half of the eye and in the cardiac outflow tract and atrioventricular canal

Vinexin, a recently identified cytoskeletal protein, contains three SH3 dom ains and plays important roles in regulation of cytoskeletal organization a nd signal transduction. Using whole-mount in situ hybridization, we showed here that expression of vinexin alpha, the longer vinexin transcript, is st rictly regulated, although the shorter transcript, vinexin beta, is express ed almost ubiquitously during embryonic development in mice. Expression of vinexin alpha was limited to within part of the eye and heart in 10.5 dpc e mbryos. Analysis of cryosections of 10.5 dpc embryos showed that vinexin al pha was expressed in a dorsal half of the retinal pigment epithelium and in the outflow tract and atrioventricular canal of the heart. Furthermore, we also found that vinexin a was expressed in the gonad and in a ventral part of the pons of 12.5 dpc embryos. These results indicated that the expressi on of vinexin et is strictly regulated in a temporally and spatially restri cted manner. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.