It is important to know the effects of the inclination of a slope on the activity of each muscle, because training by running on a sloped track is commonly used for Thoroughbred racehorses. The effects of incline (from -6 to +6%) on the forelimbs and hind limbs during walking and trotting on a treadmill were evaluated by an integrated electromyogram (iEMG). The muscle activities in the forelimb...

BACKGROUND Sonic hedgehog (Shh), a vertebrate homolog of the Drosophila segment polarity gene hedgehog (hh), has been implicated in patterning of the developing chick limb. Such a role is suggested by the restricted expression of Shh along the posterior limb bud margin, and by the observation that heterologous cells expressing Shh have limb-polarizing activity resembling that of cells from the ...

A major function of the limb bud apical ectodermal ridge (AER) is to produce fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) that signal to the underlying mesenchyme. Previous studies have suggested that of the four FGF genes specifically expressed in the mouse AER, Fgf8 is unique not only in its expression pattern, but also because it is the only such FGF gene that causes limb skeletal abnormalities when ind...

This review represents a compilation of information related to the rodent limb bud culture system from approximately 80 publications after 1969 and conversations with workers in the field. Most of these papers and book chapters refer exclusively to studies with the mouse limb bud. Sections in this review include historical review, end point measurements, activating systems, types of compounds s...

It was shown by Brandt (1944) that phocomelias and atrophied limbs can be produced experimentally after deep implantation of embryonic ectoderm into the primordium of the limb bud in the tail-bud stage (Harrison's stage no. 35) of the amblystoma embryo. The following microscopical analysis of the operated specimens shows some new results which concern the histological changes of the implanted e...

BACKGROUND: Animal breeds are often recognized through their specific characteristics, nevertheless, the breeds' anatomical and biochemical characteristics have not considered yet in many of the researches done on one-humped camels. There are some particular differences in camel breeds due to different climate conditions and rearing necessity. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current study was to com...

Specification and determination (commitment) of positional identities precedes overt pattern formation during development. In the limb bud, it is clear that the anteroposterior axis is specified at a very early stage and is prepatterned by the mutually antagonistic interaction between Gli3 and Hand2. There is also evidence that the proximodistal axis is specified early and determined progressiv...

IIntroduction I-1. Developmental genes in Drosophila I-2. Skeletal development in human IIDevelopment of the axial skeleton II-1. Signaling molecules involved in the determination of sclerotome to cartilage II2. Role of Hox genes in the regulation of vertebral segments IIIDevelopment of the limbs (appendicular skeleton) III-1. Limb bud differentiation with respect to three axes III-2. Role of F...

A crucial issue in limb development is how a correct set of precisely shaped digits forms in the digital plate. This process relies on patterning across the anterior-posterior axis of the limb bud, which is under the control of Sonic hedgehog emanating from the zone of polarizing activity. Recently, Sonic hedgehog function in the limb bud has been shown to have a dual character controlling both...

The development of vertebrate limbs is an excellent model to study patterning and growth regulation in embryogenesis (Capdevila and Izpisua Belmonte, 2001; Johnson and Tabin, 1997). The limb buds that result in morphologically distinct forelimbs and hindlimbs arise from the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) at precise locations along the anteroposterior (AP) axis of the embryo. The induction of limb...