Umme H. Faisal, MBBS Profile picture
#Neurosurgery #neurorads |Tweets mine
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Nov 12, 2023 7 tweets 3 min read
Did you know the Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) gene, crucial in brain and limb development, is whimsically named after the iconic video game character? While SHH plays a key role in embryonic patterning and cell differentiation, its name reflects a fun side of scientific nomenclature. 🧵 "Promotional artwork for the video game 'Sonic the Hedgehog'. Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2D, side-scrolling platformer, whose gameplay centers around Sonic's ability to run at high speed through levels image features Sonic standing with one hand on his hip and the other giving a thumbs up. During human brain development, the Neural Tube (precursor to the Central Nervous System), divides to form:
1. Alar plate: positioned dorsally (back part of the NT); gives rise to sensory neurons.
2. Basal plate: ventrally located (front part of the NT); forms motor neurons. Dorsal and ventral signaling in the early central nervous system.A, Signals from sonic hedgehog (Shh) (orange arrows) in the notochord induce the floor plate. B, In the dorsal part of the future neural tube, bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) and BMP-7 (green arrows) from the ectoderm adjacent to the neural tube induce snail-2 in the future neural crest and maintain Pax-3 and Pax-7 expression dorsally. Ventrally, Shh, now produced by the floor plate, induces motoneurons. C, Shh, produced by the floor plate, suppresses the expression of dorsal Pax genes (Pax-3 and Pax-7) in the ventral hal...