Anti-adhesive molecules of the extracellular matrix.

The prototype extracellular matrix glycoproteins had been identified on the basis of their activity in promoting cell adhesion and spreading. Recently, more and more evidence is accumulating that the reverse effect of extracellular matrix proteins, namely the inhibition of cell adhesion and spreading, may be equally important for proper cell function during morphogenesis and development. Several anti-adhesive proteins have been described and their mechanisms of action are being investigated.

Inhibition of cell adhesion by anti-adhesive molecules.

The importance of inhibitory (as well as stimulatory) signals for cell adhesion and/or migration is most readily recognizable during development of the nervous system, where pathfinding and the avoidance of inappropriate tracks by axons in the periphery, and the development of organized layers and establishment of boundaries in the central nervous system are crucial events. Therefore, most of the recent progress concerning the identification of novel important extracellular molecules involved in repulsive and inhibitory interactions has been made by neurobiologists.

Opposite effect of fluticasone and salmeterol on fibronectin and tenascin-C expression in primary human lung fibroblasts.

BACKGROUND: Airway remodelling is a key feature of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The remodelling process involves the deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins within the airways. Current therapies for asthma and COPD consist of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta(2)-agonists (LABA). However, their effect on airway remodelling is not well understood so far. OBJECTIVE: In this study we investigated the effect of fluticasone and salmeterol, either alone or in combination, on fibronectin and tenascin-C protein, isoform, and mRNA levels in primary human lung fibroblasts. METHODS: In our model, fibroblasts cultured in serum-free medium represented a non-inflammatory condition and stimulation with 5% fetal calf serum and/or TGF-beta(1) mimicked a pro-fibrotic environment with activation of tissue repair. Using these two different conditions, the effects of fluticasone and salmeterol on fibronectin and tenascin-C protein and mRNA levels were analysed by immunoblotting and semi-quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS: In both conditions, fluticasone increased fibronectin transcript and protein levels, whereas it decreased those of tenascin-C. Salmeterol neither affected fibronectin and tenascin-C synthesis significantly nor did it influence the effect of fluticasone when applied in combination. Furthermore, we found that treatment with fluticasone had an opposite effect on extra domain A and B containing fibronectin isoforms generated by alternative splicing compared with total fibronectin transcript levels, whereas tenascin-C isoforms were not differently modulated by fluticasone. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that standard therapies for inflammatory lung disorders influence ECM protein composition and relative expression levels. In contrast to corticosteroids, LABA did not significantly alter the expression of tenascin-C and fibronectin in cultures of primary human lung fibroblasts.

Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in the developing kidney lead to expression of tenascin in the mesenchyme.

Tenascin, a mesenchymal extracellular matrix glycoprotein, has been implicated in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during fetal development (Chiquet-Ehrismann, R., E. J. Mackie, C. A. Pearson, T. Sakakura, 1986, Cell, 47:131-139). We have now investigated the expression of tenascin during embryonic development of the mouse kidney. In this system, mesenchymal cells convert into epithelial cells as a result of a tissue interaction. By immunofluorescence, tenascin could not be found in the mesenchyme until kidney tubule epithelial began to form. It then became detectable around condensates and s-shaped bodies, the early stages of tubulogenesis. In an in vitro culture system, tenascin expression by the mesenchyme is tightly coupled to the de novo formation of epithelial, and does not occur if tubulogenesis is suppressed. The results strongly suggest that the formation of the new epithelium stimulates the expression of tenascin in the nearby mesenchyme. During postnatal development, the expression of tenascin decreases and the spatial distribution changes. In kidneys from adult mice, no tenascin can be found in the cortex, but interspersed patches of staining are visible in the medullary stroma. The results strongly support the view that tenascin is involved in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. It could therefore be crucial for embryonic development.

Tenascin is associated with chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation in vivo and promotes chondrogenesis in vitro.

The tissue distribution of the extracellular matrix glycoprotein, tenascin, during cartilage and bone development in rodents has been investigated by immunohistochemistry. Tenascin was present in condensing mesenchyme of cartilage anlagen, but not in the surrounding mesenchyme. In fully differentiated cartilages, tenascin was only present in the perichondrium. In bones that form by endochondral ossification, tenascin reappeared around the osteogenic cells invading the cartilage model. Tenascin was also present in the condensing mesenchyme of developing bones that form by intramembranous ossification and later was present around the spicules of forming bone. Tenascin was absent from mature bone matrix but persisted on periosteal and endosteal surfaces. Immunofluorescent staining of wing bud cultures from chick embryos showed large amounts of tenascin in the forming cartilage nodules. Cultures grown on a substrate of tenascin produced more cartilage nodules than cultures grown on tissue culture plastic. Tenascin in the culture medium inhibited the attachment of wing bud cells to fibronectin-coated substrates. We propose that tenascin plays an important role in chondrogenesis by modulating fibronectin-cell interactions and causing cell rounding and condensation.

Tenascin-Y: a protein of novel domain structure is secreted by differentiated fibroblasts of muscle connective tissue.

Tenascin-Y was identified in chicken as a novel member of the tenascin (TN) family of ECM proteins. Like TN-C, TN-R, and TN-X, TN-Y is a multidomain protein consisting of heptad repeats, epidermal growth factor-like repeats, fibronectin type III-like (FNIII) domains and a domain homologous to fibrinogen. In contrast to all other known TNs, the series of FNIII domains is interrupted by a novel domain, rich in serines (S) and prolines (P) that occur as repeated S-P-X-motifs, where X stands for any amino acid. Interestingly, the TN-Y-type FNIII domains are 70-100% identical with respect to their DNA sequence. Different TN-Y variants are created by alternative splicing of FNIII domains. Although, based on sequence comparisons TN-Y is most similar to mammalian TN-X, these molecules are not species homologues. TN-Y is predominantly expressed in embryonic and adult chicken heart and skeletal muscle and, to a lower extent, also in several non-muscular tissues. Two major transcripts of approximately 6.5 and 9.5 kb are differentially expressed during heart and skeletal muscle development and are also present in the adult. Anti-TN-Y antibodies recognize a approximately 400-kD double band and a approximately 300-kD form of TN-Y on immunoblots of chicken heart extracts. In situ hybridization and immunofluorescence analysis of aortic smooth muscle, heart, and skeletal muscle revealed that TN-Y is mainly expressed and secreted by cells within muscle-associated connective tissue. Cultured primary muscle fibroblasts released a approximately 220-kD doublet and a approximately 170-kD single TN-Y variant only when cultured in 10% horse serum but not in medium containing 10% fetal calf serum. All TN-Y variants isolated bind to heparin under physiologically relevant conditions that may indicate an important function retained in all tenascins.

The distribution of tenascin-X is distinct and often reciprocal to that of tenascin-C.

We have isolated a cDNA encoding mouse tenascin-X (TN-X), a new member of the family of tenascin genes. The TN-X gene lies in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class III region, as it is the case for its human counterpart. On Northern blots we detected a TN-X mRNA of approximately 13 kb in most tissues analyzed, whereas in various mouse cell lines mRNAs of approximately 11 and 13 kb were detected, suggesting the possibility of alternative splicing of TN-X transcripts. We raised antibodies against mouse TN-X fragments expressed in bacteria and used these antibodies to identify the TN-X protein in heart cell extracts and in the conditioned medium of a renal carcinoma cell line. The subunit molecular size of TN-X is approximately 500 kD, suggesting that the protein may contain up to 40 fibronectin type III repeats, making it the largest tenascin family member known yet. TN-X in conditioned medium, as well as the purified protein bind to heparin, but no binding to tenascin-C (TN-C), fibronectin, laminin or collagens could be detected. Thus the heparin-binding activity may be a common feature of the tenascins. The TN-X mRNA as well as the protein are predominantly expressed in heart and skeletal muscle, but the mRNA is found in most tissues at a low level. Immunostaining showed the protein to be associated with the extracellular matrix of the muscle tissues and with blood vessels in all of the tissues analyzed. Although the TN-X gene lies in the MHC class III locus, it is not expressed in the lymphoid organs analyzed, except for the staining around blood vessels. In skin and tissues of the digestive tract often a reciprocal distribution of TN-X and TN-C was observed.

Tenascin-C expression by fibroblasts is elevated in stressed collagen gels.

Chick embryo fibroblasts cultured on a collagen matrix exert tractional forces leading to the contraction of unrestrained, floating collagen gels and to the development of tension in attached, restrained gels. On a restrained, attached collagen gel the fibroblasts synthesize large quantities of tenascin-C, whereas in a floating, contracting gel tenascin-C synthesis is decreased. This regulation of tenascin-C synthesis can be observed by the secretion of metabolically labeled tenascin-C into the conditioned medium, as well as by the deposition of tenascin-C into the collagen matrix as judged by immunofluorescence. Regulation appears to occur at the transcriptional level, because when cells on attached or floating collagen gels are transfected with promoter constructs of the tenascin-C gene, luciferase expression driven by the tenascin-C promoter parallels the effects measured for endogenous tenascin-C synthesis, whereas luciferase expression under the control of the SV40 promoter does not depend on the state of the collagen gel. The promoter region responsible for tenascin-C induction on attached collagen gels is distinct from the region important for the induction of tenascin-C by serum, and may define a novel kind of response element. By joining this tenascin-C sequence to the SV40 promoter of a reporter plasmid, its activity can be transferred to the heterologous promoter. We propose that the tenascin-C promoter is directly or indirectly activated in fibroblasts generating and experiencing mechanical stress within a restrained collagen matrix. This may be an important aspect of the regulation of tenascin-C expression during embryogenesis as well as during wound healing and other regenerative and morphogenetic processes.

wing blister, a new Drosophila laminin alpha chain required for cell adhesion and migration during embryonic and imaginal development.

We report the molecular and functional characterization of a new alpha chain of laminin in Drosophila. The new laminin chain appears to be the Drosophila counterpart of both vertebrate alpha2 (also called merosin) and alpha1 chains, with a slightly higher degree of homology to alpha2, suggesting that this chain is an ancestral version of both alpha1 and alpha2 chains. During embryogenesis, the protein is associated with basement membranes of the digestive system and muscle attachment sites, and during larval stage it is found in a specific pattern in wing and eye discs. The gene is assigned to a locus called wing blister (wb), which is essential for embryonic viability. Embryonic phenotypes include twisted germbands and fewer pericardial cells, resulting in gaps in the presumptive heart and tracheal trunks, and myotubes detached from their target muscle attachment sites. Most phenotypes are in common with those observed in Drosophila laminin alpha3, 5 mutant embryos and many are in common with those observed in integrin mutations. Adult phenotypes show blisters in the wings in viable allelic combinations, similar to phenotypes observed in integrin genes. Mutation analysis in the eye demonstrates a function in rhabdomere organization. In summary, this new laminin alpha chain is essential for embryonic viability and is involved in processes requiring cell migration and cell adhesion.

Mouse ten-m/Odz is a new family of dimeric type II transmembrane proteins expressed in many tissues.

The Drosophila gene ten-m/odz is the only pair rule gene identified to date which is not a transcription factor. In an attempt to analyze the structure and the function of ten-m/odz in mouse, we isolated four murine ten-m cDNAs which code for proteins of 2,700-2, 800 amino acids. All four proteins (Ten-m1-4) lack signal peptides at the NH2 terminus, but contain a short hydrophobic domain characteristic of transmembrane proteins, 300-400 amino acids after the NH2 terminus. About 200 amino acids COOH-terminal to this hydrophobic region are eight consecutive EGF-like domains. Cell transfection, biochemical, and electronmicroscopic studies suggest that Ten-m1 is a dimeric type II transmembrane protein. Expression of fusion proteins composed of the NH2-terminal and hydrophobic domain of ten-m1 attached to the alkaline phosphatase reporter gene resulted in membrane-associated staining of the alkaline phosphatase. Electronmicroscopic and electrophoretic analysis of a secreted form of the extracellular domain of Ten-m1 showed that Ten-m1 is a disulfide-linked dimer and that the dimerization is mediated by EGF-like modules 2 and 5 which contain an odd number of cysteines. Northern blot and immunohistochemical analyses revealed widespread expression of mouse ten-m genes, with most prominent expression in brain. All four ten-m genes can be expressed in variously spliced mRNA isoforms. The extracellular domain of Ten-m1 fused to an alkaline phosphatase reporter bound to specific regions in many tissues which were partially overlapping with the Ten-m1 immunostaining. Far Western assays and electronmicroscopy demonstrated that Ten-m1 can bind to itself.

Tenascins and their implications in diseases and tissue mechanics.

Tenascins are glycoproteins found in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of many tissues. Their role is not only to support the tissue structurally but also to regulate the fate of the different cell types populating the ECM. For instance, tenascins are required when active tissue modeling during embryogenesis or re-modeling after injury occurs. Interestingly, the four members of the tenascin family, tenascin-C, -X, -R and -W, show different and often mutually exclusive expression patterns. As a consequence, these structurally related proteins display distinct functions and are associated with distinct pathologies. The present review aims at presenting the four members of the tenascin family with respect to their structure, expression patterns and implications in diseases and tissue mechanics.

The extracellular matrix ligands fibronectin and tenascin collaborate in regulating collagenase gene expression in fibroblasts.

Tenascin (TN) is a large oligomeric glycoprotein that is present transiently in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of cells and is involved in morphogenetic movements, tissue patterning, and tissue repair. It has multiple domains, both adhesive and anti-adhesive, that interact with cells and with fibronectin (FN) and other ECM macromolecules. We have studied the consequences of the interaction of TN with a FN matrix on gene expression in rabbit synovial fibroblasts. Fibroblasts plated on a mixed substrate of FN and TN, but not on FN alone, upregulated synthesis of four genes: collagenase, stromelysin, the 92-kDa gelatinase, and c-fos. Although the fibroblasts spread well on both FN and FN/TN substrates, nuclear c-Fos increased within 1 h only in cells that were plated on FN/TN. TN did not induce the expression of collagenase in cells plated on substrates of type I collagen or vitronectin (VN). Moreover, soluble TN added to cells adhering to a FN substrate or to serum proteins had no effect, suggesting that TN has an effect only in the context of mixed substrates of FN and TN. Collagenase increased within 4 h of plating on a FN/TN substrate and exhibited kinetics similar to those for induction of collagenase gene expression by signaling through the integrin FN receptor. Arg-Gly-Asp peptide ligands that recognize either the FN receptor or the VN receptor and function-perturbing anti-integrin monoclonal antibodies diminished the interaction of fibroblasts with a mixed substrate of FN, TN, and VN, but had no effect on the adhesion of fibroblasts to a substrate of FN and VN, suggesting that both receptors recognize the complex. Anti-TN68, an antibody that recognizes an epitope in the carboxyl-terminal type III repeats involved in the interaction of TN with both FN and cells, blocked the inductive effect of the FN/TN substrate, whereas anti-TNM1, an antibody that recognizes an epitope in the amino-terminal anti-adhesive region of epidermal growth factor-like repeats, had no effect. These data suggest that transient alteration of the composition of ECM by addition of proteins like TN may regulate the expression of genes involved in cell migration, tissue remodeling, and tissue invasion, in regions of tissue undergoing phenotypic changes.

The fibrinogen globe of tenascin-C promotes basic fibroblast growth factor-induced endothelial cell elongation.

To investigate the potential role of tenascin-C (TN-C) on endothelial sprouting we used bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) as an in vitro model of angiogenesis. We found that TN-C is specifically expressed by sprouting and cord-forming BAECs but not by nonsprouting BAECs. To test whether TN-C alone or in combination with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) can enhance endothelial sprouting or cord formation, we used BAECs that normally do not sprout and, fittingly, do not express TN-C. In the presence of bFGF, exogenous TN-C but not fibronectin induced an elongated phenotype in nonsprouting BAECs. This phenotype was due to altered actin cytoskeleton organization. The fibrinogen globe of the TN-C molecule was the active domain promoting the elongated phenotype in response to bFGF. Furthermore, we found that the fibrinogen globe was responsible for reduced cell adhesion of BAECs on TN-C substrates. We conclude that bFGF-stimulated endothelial cells can be switched to a sprouting phenotype by the decreased adhesive strength of TN-C, mediated by the fibrinogen globe.

Cell-adhesive responses to tenascin-C splice variants involve formation of fascin microspikes.

Tenascin-C is an adhesion-modulating matrix glycoprotein that has multiple effects on cell behavior. Tenascin-C transcripts are expressed in motile cells and at sites of tissue modeling during development, and alternative splicing generates variants that encode different numbers of fibronectin type III repeats. We have examined the in vivo expression and cell adhesive properties of two full-length recombinant tenascin-C proteins: TN-190, which contains the eight constant fibronectin type III repeats, and TN-ADC, which contains the additional AD2, AD1, and C repeats. In situ hybridization with probes specific for the AD2, AD1, and C repeats shows that these splice variants are expressed at sites of active tissue modeling and fibronectin expression in the developing avian feather bud and sternum. Transcripts incorporating the AD2, AD1, and C repeats are present in embryonic day 10 wing bud but not in embryonic day 10 lung. By using a panel of nine cell lines in attachment assays, we have found that C2C12, G8, and S27 myoblastic cells undergo concentration-dependent adhesion to both variants, organize actin microspikes that contain the actin-bundling protein fascin, and do not assemble focal contacts. On a molar basis, TN-ADC is more active than TN-190 in promoting cell attachment and irregular cell spreading. The addition of either TN-190 or TN-ADC in solution to C2C12, COS-7, or MG-63 cells adherent on fibronectin decreases cell attachment and results in decreased organization of actin microfilament bundles, with formation of cortical membrane ruffles and retention of residual points of substratum contact that contain filamentous actin and fascin. These data establish a biochemical similarity in the processes of cell adhesion to tenascin-C and thrombospondin-1, also an "antiadhesive" matrix component, and also demonstrate that both the adhesive and adhesion-modulating properties of tenascin-C involve similar biochemical events in the cortical cytoskeleton. In addition to these generic properties, TN-ADC is less active in adhesion modulation than TN-190. The coordinated expression of different tenascin-C transcripts during development may, therefore, provide appropriate microenvironments for regulated changes in cell shape, adhesion, and movement.

Phylogenetic analysis of the tenascin gene family: evidence of origin early in the chordate lineage.

BACKGROUND: Tenascins are a family of glycoproteins found primarily in the extracellular matrix of embryos where they help to regulate cell proliferation, adhesion and migration. In order to learn more about their origins and relationships to each other, as well as to clarify the nomenclature used to describe them, the tenascin genes of the urochordate Ciona intestinalis, the pufferfish Tetraodon nigroviridis and Takifugu rubripes and the frog Xenopus tropicalis were identified and their gene organization and predicted protein products compared with the previously characterized tenascins of amniotes. RESULTS: A single tenascin gene was identified in the genome of C. intestinalis that encodes a polypeptide with domain features common to all vertebrate tenascins. Both pufferfish genomes encode five tenascin genes: two tenascin-C paralogs, a tenascin-R with domain organization identical to mammalian and avian tenascin-R, a small tenascin-X with previously undescribed GK repeats, and a tenascin-W. Four tenascin genes corresponding to tenascin-C, tenascin-R, tenascin-X and tenascin-W were also identified in the X. tropicalis genome. Multiple sequence alignment reveals that differences in the size of tenascin-W from various vertebrate classes can be explained by duplications of specific fibronectin type III domains. The duplicated domains are encoded on single exons and contain putative integrin-binding motifs. A phylogenetic tree based on the predicted amino acid sequences of the fibrinogen-related domains demonstrates that tenascin-C and tenascin-R are the most closely related vertebrate tenascins, with the most conserved repeat and domain organization. Taking all lines of evidence together, the data show that the tenascins referred to as tenascin-Y and tenascin-N are actually members of the tenascin-X and tenascin-W gene families, respectively. CONCLUSION: The presence of a tenascin gene in urochordates but not other invertebrate phyla suggests that tenascins may be specific to chordates. Later genomic duplication events led to the appearance of four family members in vertebrates: tenascin-C, tenascin-R, tenascin-W and tenascin-X.

Participation of tenascin and transforming growth factor-beta in reciprocal epithelial-mesenchymal interactions of MCF7 cells and fibroblasts.

The tumor stroma is essential for the development of the tumor epithelium. Tenascin is an extracellular matrix protein highly expressed in the stroma of malignant mammary tumors. We therefore tested whether in vitro MCF7 cells were able to induce fibroblasts to synthesize tenascin. Indeed MCF7 cell-conditioned medium contained tenascin-inducing activity. This activity was shown to be transforming growth factor-beta. The morphology of the MCF7 cells was in turn affected by the addition of tenascin to the culture medium. The cells partially detached from the substratum and lost their cell-cell contracts.

Interference of tenascin-C with syndecan-4 binding to fibronectin blocks cell adhesion and stimulates tumor cell proliferation.

Tenascin-C is an adhesion-modulatory extracellular matrix molecule that is highly expressed in tumors. To investigate the effect of tenascin-C on tumor cells, we analyzed its antiadhesive nature and effect on tumor cell proliferation in a fibronectin context. Glioblastoma and breast carcinoma cell adhesion was compromised by a mixed fibronectin/tenascin-C substratum, which concomitantly caused increased tumor-cell proliferation. We identified the antiadhesive mechanism as a specific interference of tenascin-C with cell binding to the HepII/syndecan-4 site in fibronectin through direct binding of tenascin-C to the 13th fibronectin type III repeat (FNIII13). Cell adhesion and proliferation levels were restored by the addition of FNIII13. Overexpression of syndecan-4, but not syndecan-1 or -2, reverted the cell adhesion defect of tenascin-C. We characterized FNIII13 as the binding site for syndecan-4. Thus we describe a novel mechanism by which tenascin-C impairs the adhesive function of fibronectin through binding to FNIII13, thereby inhibiting the coreceptor function of syndecan-4 in fibronectin-induced integrin signaling.

The HEM proteins: a novel family of tissue-specific transmembrane proteins expressed from invertebrates through mammals with an essential function in oogenesis.

We report the identification of a new family of proteins, termed the HEM family, which show distinct expression patterns in blood cells and the central nervous system. Through the isolation and characterization of the corresponding brain-specific Drosophila (dhem-2) and rat orthologues (Hem-2), and through the detection of the Caenorhabditis elegans Hem-2 orthologue in the database, we show that this family is conserved throughout evolution. HEM proteins show a conserved length ranging from 1118 to 1126 amino acid residues. Moreover, they are at least 35% identical with each other and harbour several conserved membrane-spanning domains, indicative for their location on the cell surface. One of the members, the Drosophila orthologue dhem-2, was analysed in detail for its spatial expression pattern during development and for its mutant phenotype. dhem-2 is expressed maternally in the oocyte and shows uniform expression during the first half of embryogenesis, but becomes restricted to the brain and the nervous system during late embryogenesis, consistent with the expression of its vertebrate orthologue in the brain. One P-element insertion, located 39 base-pairs downstream from the dhem-2 transcription start site, causes female sterility, due to the fact that developmental processes in the oocyte are disturbed. Of the vertebrate HEM family members, the mammalian Hem-1 gene is expressed only in cells of hematopoietic origin, while Hem-2 is preferentially expressed in brain, heart, liver and testis.

Tena, a Drosophila gene related to tenascin, shows selective transcript localization.

We report the identification and molecular characterization of tena*, a Drosophila gene located at 11A6-9 on the X-chromosome. The deduced protein of 782 amino acids contains eight tenascin-type EGF-like repeats not described in Drosophila before, but lacks the fibronectin type III repeats and the fibrinogen homology present in the vertebrate tenascin molecules. Tena codes for a large transcript which exhibits extremely long 5' and 3' untranslated regions. Tena transcripts show a specific perinuclear localization within cells and are mainly expressed in the central nervous system, in the brain and near muscle attachment sites during embryogenesis. During pupal stages, tena is detected in the eye. These expression patterns are reminiscent of those of vertebrate tenascin. Tenascin-type EGF-like sequences are also detected in other loci of Drosophila and in various other organisms, indicating the existence of a family of genes related to tenascin.

The expression of teneurin-4 in the avian embryo.

The teneurins are a family of four transmembrane proteins expressed in the developing vertebrate nervous system, though the Drosophila teneurin ten-m is also a pair-rule gene. Whole-mount in situ hybridization was used to localize teneurin-4 transcripts in the chicken embryo. The earliest signal is detected at stage 19 in the somites and limb buds. By stage 20 teneurin-4 transcripts are detected in temporal periocular mesenchyme, branchial arches, diencephalon and somites. Teneurin-4 expression in the limbs changes dramatically during development. Between stages 19 and 21 teneurin-4 expression is concentrated proximally in the zone of polarizing activity. Between stages 24 and 26 teneurin-4 is expressed in the mesenchyme of the anterodistal part of the limb. As in Drosophila, vertebrate teneurins are expressed not only in the nervous system, but also in non-neuronal tissues during pattern formation.