PUBLICATION

ELABELA: A Hormone Essential for Heart Development Signals via the Apelin Receptor

Authors
Chng, S.C., Ho, L., Tian, J., and Reversade, B.
ID
ZDB-PUB-140106-3
Date
2013
Source
Developmental Cell   27(6): 672-680 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Chng, Serene, Ho, Lena, REVERSADE, Bruno, Tian, Jing
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Heart/embryology*
  • Zinc Fingers
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Peptide Hormones/genetics
  • Peptide Hormones/metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/cytology
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism*
  • Phenotype
  • Gene Frequency
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
  • Humans
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/genetics
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/metabolism*
  • Transcription Factors/genetics
  • Transcription Factors/metabolism*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • RNA, Messenger/genetics
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Zebrafish/embryology
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish/metabolism
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Endoderm
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
(all 31)
PubMed
24316148 Full text @ Dev. Cell
Abstract

We report here the discovery and characterization of a gene, ELABELA (ELA), encoding a conserved hormone of 32 amino acids. Present in human embryonic stem cells, ELA is expressed at the onset of zebrafish zygotic transcription and is ubiquitous in the naive ectodermal cells of the embryo. Using zinc-finger-nuclease-mediated gene inactivation in zebrafish, we created an allelic series of ela mutants. ela null embryos have impaired endoderm differentiation potential marked by reduced gata5 and sox17 expression. Loss of Ela causes embryos to develop with a rudimentary heart or no heart at all, surprisingly phenocopying the loss of the apelin receptor (aplnr), which we show serves as Ela's cognate G protein-coupled receptor. Our results reveal the existence of a peptide hormone, ELA, which, together with APLNR, forms an essential signaling axis for early cardiovascular development.

Genes / Markers
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Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
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Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
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