Dystroglycan protein distribution coincides with basement membranes and muscle differentiation during mouse embryogenesis.

Using immunohistochemistry, we have examined beta-Dystroglycan protein distribution in the mouse embryo at embryonic stages E9.5 to E11.5. Our data show that Dystroglycan expression correlates with basement membranes in many tissues, such as the notochord, neural tube, promesonephros, and myotome. In the myotome, we describe the timing of Dystroglycan protein re-distribution at the surface of myogenic precursor cells as basement membrane assembles into a continuous sheet. We also report on non-basement-membrane-associated Dystroglycan expression in the floor plate and the myocardium. This distribution often corresponds to sites of expression previously reported in adults, suggesting that Dystroglycan is continuously produced during development. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.