Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
We are sorry, but NCBI web applications do not support your browser and may not function properly. More information
    Toxicol Sci. 2007 Dec;100(2):456-63. Epub 2007 Aug 28.

    Identification and characterization of several dietary alkaloids as weak inhibitors of hedgehog signaling.

    Source

    Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53703, USA.

    Abstract

    The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway plays an integral role in the patterning and development of diverse structures in the vertebrate embryo. Aberrations in Hh signaling are associated with a range of developmental defects including failure of interhemispheric division of the embryonic forebrain as well as midline facial dysmorphia including cleft lip/palate and cyclopia, collectively termed holoprosencephaly (HPE). Postnatally, Hh signaling has been postulated to play a pivotal role in healing and repair processes and inappropriate Hh pathway activation has been implicated in several types of cancers. The Veratrum alkaloid cyclopamine is a potent inhibitor of Hh signaling and causes HPE-like defects in diverse species including sheep, hamster, mouse, and zebra fish. Using murine cell-based assays, we have determined that a number of dietary alkaloids similar in structure to cyclopamine also inhibit Hh signaling but with significantly lower potency. We found that these dietary compounds act additively through a mechanism similar to cyclopamine, downstream of Ptc1 and upstream of Gli1. Using an embryonic zebra fish developmental assay, we found that while cyclopamine exposure caused HPE-like defects, exposure to one of these dietary compounds, solanidine, did not.

    PMID:
    17728282
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
    Free full text

      Supplemental Content

      Icon for HighWire

      Save items

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk