Int. J. Dev. Biol. 46: 375 - 384 (2002)

Vol 46, Issue 4

Special Issue: Developmental Biology in Australia and New Zealand

The role of the Eph-ephrin signalling system in the regulation of developmental patterning

Published: 1 July 2002

Mark G Coulthard, Shannon Duffy, Michelle Down, Betty Evans, Maryanne Power, Fiona Smith, Con Stylianou, Sabine Kleikamp, Andrew Oates, Martin Lackmann, Gordon F Burns and Andrew W Boyd

Leukaemia Foundation Laboratory, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, P.O. Royal Brisbane Hospital, Australia.

Abstract

The Eph and ephrin system, consisting of fourteen Eph receptor tyrosine kinase proteins and nine ephrin membrane proteins in vertebrates, has been implicated in the regulation of many critical events during development. Binding of cell surface Eph and ephrin proteins results in bi-directional signals, which regulate the cytoskeletal, adhesive and motile properties of the interacting cells. Through these signals Eph and ephrin proteins are involved in early embryonic cell movements, which establish the germ layers, cell movements involved in formation of tissue boundaries and the pathfinding of axons. This review focuses on two vertebrate models, the zebrafish and mouse, in which experimental perturbation of Eph and/or ephrin expression in vivo have provided important insights into the role and functioning of the Eph/ephrin system.