PUBLICATION

The caudal-related homeobox genes cdx1a and cdx4 act redundantly to regulate hox gene expression and the formation of putative hematopoietic stem cells during zebrafish embryogenesis

Authors
Davidson, A.J., and Zon, L.I.
ID
ZDB-PUB-060210-5
Date
2006
Source
Developmental Biology   292(2): 506-518 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Davidson, Alan, Zon, Leonard I.
Keywords
Cdx, Caudal homeobox, Hox, Zebrafish, Hematopoiesis, Hematopoietic stem cells
MeSH Terms
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Chromosomes
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Embryonic Development*
  • Erythropoiesis
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
  • Genes, Homeobox*
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cells/cytology
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cells/metabolism*
  • Homeodomain Proteins/chemistry
  • Homeodomain Proteins/isolation & purification
  • Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oligonucleotides, Antisense/pharmacology
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Radiation Hybrid Mapping
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Synteny
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
  • Zebrafish/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism*
PubMed
16457800 Full text @ Dev. Biol.
Abstract
The hox genes play a central role in organogenesis and are implicated in the formation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). The cdx genes encode homeodomain transcription factors that act as master regulators of the hox genes. In zebrafish, mutations in cdx4 cause a severe, but not complete, deficit in embryonic blood cells. Here, we report the expression and function of cdx1a, a zebrafish Cdx1 paralogue. Using morpholino-mediated knockdown of cdx1a in a cdx4 mutant background, we show that a deficiency in both cdx genes causes a severe perturbation of hox gene expression and a complete failure to specify blood. The hematopoietic defect in cdx-deficient embryos does not result from a general block in posterior mesoderm differentiation as endothelial cells and kidney progenitors are still formed in the doubly deficient embryos. In addition, cdx-deficient embryos display a significant reduction in runx1a(+) putative HSCs in the zebrafish equivalent to the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region. Overexpressing hoxa9a in cdx-deficient embryos rescues embryonic erythropoiesis in the posterior mesoderm as well as the formation of HSCs in the AGM region. Taken together, these results suggest that the cdx-hox pathway plays an essential role in the formation of both embryonic erythroid cells and definitive HSCs during vertebrate embryogenesis.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping