The Pattern of SOX11 During Chicken Limb Development Suggests a Role in Myogenesis

SOX11 has been implicated in several aspects of development including epithelial to mesenchymal interactions, neuronal migration, skeletogenesis, joint maintenance, and hedgehog signaling. As a first step in evaluating its role in limb development, we determined the expression pattern for SOX11 between Hamilton‐Hamburger (HH) stages 19–35 chicken embryos. Initally (HH19), SOX11 expression is detected in the the emerging limb bud, with strong ventral expression centrally. At HH22, dorsal anterior and posterior proximal expression is evident. As the limb develops (HH24), SOX11 expression shifts distally and wanes proximally. At HH25, expression surrounds condensing cartilage, and by HH29, SOX11 expression surrounds and accentuates the elbow and distal phalanges. By HH35, SOX11 has clearly shifted to selected muscles and tendons but is poorly expressed in joint spaces. This is the first report to implicate SOX11 in myogenesis. These findings suggest that SOX11 may play multiple roles during skeletogenesis, including the regulation of selected muscle tracts. Further work is needed to determine whether there is a common role for SOX11 during these various components of musculoskeletal development or whether SOX11 adapts to multiple pleiotropic roles that occur during limb development.