Effects of retinoic acid on the endoderm in Xenopus embryos

 When Xenopus embryos from mid-tailbud to early tadpole stages were exposed to retinoic acid (RA), the gut developed with an uncoiled, straight intestinal tube, morphogenesis of the liver and stomach was affected and intestinal epithelial cells developed without a brush border and alkaline phosphatase activity. However, the temporal and spatial expression pattern of XlHbox 8, the only homeobox gene expressed in the endoderm was unaffected. In lateral plate mesodermal cells the expression of α-smooth muscle (SM) actin was delayed. A similar syndrome has been reported in a study of embryos lacking functional FGF receptors in which it was proposed that the uncoiled intestinal tube and the delayed differentiation of the intestinal muscle cells are causally related. Our results support this proposition and further suggest that mesenchymal-epithelial interactions concerned with regional specification of the endoderm may be impaired resulting in other defects in the gut. Received: 3 October 1997 / Accepted: 3 February 1998