====== Sonic hedgehog pathway ======

[[Protein]] that is encoded by the [[SHH]] ("sonic hedgehog") gene.

Both the [[gene]] and the [[protein]] may also be found notated alternatively as "Shh".

Sonic hedgehog is one of three proteins in the mammalian signaling pathway family called [[hedgehog]], the others being desert hedgehog (DHH) and Indian hedgehog (IHH). SHH is the best studied ligand of the hedgehog signaling pathway. It plays a key role in regulating vertebrate organogenesis, such as in the growth of digits on limbs and organization of the brain. Sonic hedgehog is the best established example of a morphogen as defined by Lewis Wolpert's French flag model—a molecule that diffuses to form a concentration gradient and has different effects on the cells of the developing embryo depending on its concentration. SHH remains important in the adult. 

The [[sonic hedgehog signaling pathway]] has also been linked to the formation of specific kinds of cancerous tumors.

{{ ::signaling_pathway.jpg|}}

===== Sonic hedgehog medulloblastoma =====


see [[Sonic hedgehog medulloblastoma]]