Kansas City, Mo. (June 9, 2006) – Olivier Pourquié, Ph.D., a Stowers Institute and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and Tadahiro Iimura, Ph.D., a Senior Research Associate, have published findings that provide insight into the role of one group of transcription factors in spine formation.

     The paper, “Collinear activation of Hoxb genes during gastrulation is linked to mesoderm cell ingression,” was posted on the Nature Web site this week.

     The vertebral column is a highly regionalized structure, with each vertebra bearing a specific identity established in embryonic development. Vertebral identity is known to be under the control of a group of transcription factors called Hox genes. These genes are found in four clusters in the genome and their arrangement along the chromosome reflects their distribution in nested domains along the length of the future spine. This surprising property is termed “spatial collinearity.”

     Previously, it was believed that the spatial collinearity of Hox genes along the body axis was established during posterior growth of the vertebrate embryo. Dr. Pourquié’s lab demonstrated that, in fact, Hox genes control the moment when cells leave the superficial layer of the embryo to join the precursors of the vertebrae in the mesoderm, demonstrating that the establishment of spatial collinearity in the embryo is directly controlled by the Hox genes themselves.

     “These findings have changed our perception of the regionalization of the vertebral column and opened the way to a new area of research,” said Dr. Pourquié. “Very little is known about the targets and the functions of Hox genes, and these experiments provide us with a convenient assay to understand how Hox genes control the ingression behavior of epiblast cells, and thus might clarify the function of this fundamental class of transcription factors.”

     “We believe these findings will help to understand the progressive regionalization of the spine and the problems that arise when regionalization is ineffective or incomplete, as in severe cases of congenital scoliosis,” said Dr. Iimura.

     “Dr. Pourquié and his colleagues have discovered information that challenges the conventional scientific understanding of spinal development,” said William Neaves, Ph.D., President and CEO. “As a result, this field of research has moved to a more productive track, and the door is now open for more important findings in the future.”

     Dr. Pourquié has made numerous notable discoveries in the study of the genes that influence how muscle and bone are formed from the masses of tissue, the somites, along the axis of the body. His work has revealed the mechanisms governing temporal control of patterning in somatic mesoderm, a field of research with significant relevance to developmental disorders and human birth defects. He holds a faculty appointment as a Professor in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology at The University of Kansas School of Medicine. More information about the work of Dr. Pourquié and his colleagues is available at www.stowers-institute.org/labs/PourquieLab.asp.

About the Stowers Institute
     Housed in a 600,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility on a 10-acre campus in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research conducts basic research on fundamental processes of cellular life. Through its commitment to collaborative research and the use of cutting-edge technology, the Institute seeks more effective means of preventing and curing disease. The Institute was founded by Jim and Virginia Stowers, two cancer survivors who have created combined endowments of $2 billion in support of basic research of the highest quality.