mRNA Localization of ASXL2

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect. However, the etiology for the majority of CHD cases have been unknown. Our lab identified a chromatin factor, Additional Sex Combs-Like 2 (ASXL2), as a novel regulator of cardiovascular development. ASXL2 fetuses display congenital heart malformations. To support the notion that ASXL2 plays important roles in cardiovascular development, I conducted whole mount in situ hybridization experiment to examine the distribution of ASXL2 mRNA in mouse embryo at embryonic day 10.5. It resulted in a surprisingly beautiful pattern of high expression level of ASXL2 in the heart and somites. The image in the submission was captured by Andrea using a dissection microscope.