SHH – Sonic Hedgehog Protein

Critical protein in embryonic development Sonic hedgehog protein (SHH) is a major signaling molecule of embryonic development in humans and other animals, encoded by the SHH gene.[5] This signaling molecule is key in regulating embryonic morphogenesis in all animals. SHH controls organogenesis and the organization of the central nervous system, limbs, digits and many other parts of the body. Sonic hedgehog is a morphogen that patterns the developing embryo using a concentration gradient characterized by the French flag model.[6] This model has a non-uniform distribution of SHH molecules which governs different cell fates according to concentration. Mutations in this gene can cause holoprosencephaly, a failure of splitting in the cerebral hemispheres,[7] as demonstrated in an experiment using SHH knock-out mice in which the forebrain midline failed to develop and instead only a single fused telencephalic vesicle resulted.[8] Sonic hedgehog still plays a role in differentiation, proli ... Read full article.