Mouse Crossveinless-2 is the vertebrate homolog of a Drosophila extracellular regulator of BMP signaling.

The Dpp/BMP signaling pathway is highly conserved between vertebrates and invertebrates. The recent molecular characterization of the Drosophila crossveinless-2 (cv-2) mutation by Conley and colleagues introduced a novel regulatory step in the Dpp/BMP pathway (Development 127 (2000) 3945). The CV-2 protein is secreted and contains five cysteine-rich (CR) domains similar to those observed in the BMP antagonist Short gastrulation (Sog) of Drosophila and Chordin (Chd) of vertebrates. The mutant phenotype in Drosophila suggests that CV-2 is required for the differentiation of crossvein structures in the wing which require high Dpp levels. Here we present the mouse and human homologs of the Drosophila cv-2 protein. The mouse gene is located on chromosome 9A3 while the human locus maps on chromosome 7p14. CV-2 is expressed dynamically during mouse development, in particular in regions of high BMP signaling such as the posterior primitive streak, ventral tail bud and prevertebral cartilages. We conclude that CV-2 is an evolutionarily conserved extracellular regulator of the Dpp/BMP signaling pathway.