| Summary: | TGFbeta signaling peptides have been shown to play increasingly diverse roles in metazoan development and tissue homeostasis. Negative regulation of TGFbeta ligands such as Nodal can be achieved by physical interactions with inhibitory molecules. Dante is a recently identified putative member of DAN/Cerberus family of TGFbeta inhibitors. Previously shown to be unilaterally expressed on the right side of the mouse node, Dante has been suggested to play a role in Left-Right axis formation possibly by inhibition of Nodal molecules. The aim of this study was to further characterize Dante and to determine whether it can physically interact with Nodal. First, a longer Dante cDNA was isolated in an attempt to clone the full-length transcript. Furthermore, Dante expression pattern was analyzed during murine development and adult tissues. Lastly, co-immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that Dante is able to physically interact with Nodal, providing further support for its potential role as a Nodal inhibitor.
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