PUBLICATION
A molecular pathway leading to endoderm formation in zebrafish
- Authors
- Alexander, J. and Stainier, D.Y.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-991102-6
- Date
- 1999
- Source
- Current biology : CB 9(20): 1147-1157 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Alexander, Jon, Stainier, Didier
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta*
- Male
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
- High Mobility Group Proteins*
- Zebrafish/embryology*
- Zebrafish/genetics*
- Zebrafish/metabolism
- Mutation
- Endoderm/cytology
- Endoderm/metabolism
- Transcription Factors*
- Receptors, Growth Factor/genetics
- SOXF Transcription Factors
- Signal Transduction
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Female
- Zebrafish Proteins*
- Nodal Signaling Ligands
- Proteins/genetics
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Transforming Growth Factor beta/genetics
- Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism
- DNA-Binding Proteins*
- Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases*
- PubMed
- 10531029 Full text @ Curr. Biol.
Citation
Alexander, J. and Stainier, D.Y. (1999) A molecular pathway leading to endoderm formation in zebrafish. Current biology : CB. 9(20):1147-1157.
Abstract
Background: Several potentially important regulators of vertebrate endoderm development have been identified, including Activin-related growth factors and their receptors; transcriptional regulators encoded by the genes Mixer, Xsox17, and HNF3beta; zebrafish One-eyed pinhead (Oep), a member of the Cripto/FRL-1/Cryptic family of epidermal growth factor related proteins (EGF-CFC); and the product of the zebrafish locus casanova, which plays an essential cell-autonomous role in endoderm formation. Results: Using overexpression studies and the analysis of different zebrafish mutants, we have assembled a molecular pathway that leads to endoderm formation. We report that a zebrafish Sox17 homologue is expressed during gastrulation exclusively in the endoderm and that casanova mutants lack all sox17 expression. Overexpression of mixer induces ectopic sox17-expressing cells in wild-type embryos and promotes endoderm formation in oep mutants, but does not rescue sox17 expression or endoderm formation in casanova mutants. Overexpression of a constitutively active form of the type I transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) receptor TARAM-A also promotes sox17 expression in wild-type and oep mutant embryos, but not in casanova mutants. We also show that the Nodal-related molecules Cyclops and Squint and the transmembrane protein Oep are essential for normal mixer expression. Conclusions: The data indicate that the following pathway leads to zebrafish endoderm formation: Cyclops and Squint activate receptors such as TARAM-A; Oep also appears to act upstream of such receptors; signals transduced by these receptors lead to the expression of mixer, Mixer then acts through casanova to promote the expression of sox17 and differentiation of the endoderm.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping