Abstract
The clockwise rotation of cilia in the developing mammalian embryo drives a leftward flow of liquid; this genetically regulated biophysical force specifies left-right asymmetry of the mammalian body. How leftward flow is interpreted and information propagated to other tissues is the subject of debate. Four recent papers have shed fresh light on the possible mechanisms.
Highlights
Opinion we can instinctively tell left from right, these two terms prove strangely difficult to define
The role of the node in establishing L-R asymmetry in early mammalian development In the mouse embryo, the L-R axis is established at approximately 8.25 days of development
To either side of the midline sits the paraxial mesoderm, containing the somites. This is flanked by the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM), a lineage that will in later development contribute to asymmetric organ structure
Summary
4. Kathiriya IS, Srivastava D: Left-right asymmetry and cardiac looping: implications for cardiac development and congenital heart disease. 5. Drummond IA: Cilia functions in development. 8. Nonaka S, Tanaka Y, Okada Y, Takeda S, Harada A, Kanai Y, Kido M, Hirokawa N: Randomization of left-right asymmetry due to loss of nodal cilia generating leftward flow of extraembryonic fluid in mice lacking KIF3B motor protein. Hirokawa N, Tanaka Y, Okada Y: Cilia, KIF3 molecular motor and nodal flow. Okada Y, Nonaka S, Tanaka Y, Saijoh Y, Hamada H, Hirokawa N: Abnormal nodal flow precedes situs inversus in iv and inv mice. Nonaka S, Shiratori H, Saijoh Y, Hamada H: Determination of left-right patterning of the mouse embryo by artificial nodal flow.
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