PUBLICATION
Crucial role of zebrafish prox1 in hypothalamic catecholaminergic neurons development
- Authors
- Pistocchi, A., Gaudenzi, G., Carra, S., Bresciani, E., Del Giacco, L., and Cotelli, F.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-080324-5
- Date
- 2008
- Source
- BMC Developmental Biology 8: 27 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Cotelli, Franco, Del Giacco, Luca
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Catecholamines/genetics*
- Cell Count
- Cell Differentiation
- Embryo, Nonmammalian/embryology
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Genes, Homeobox
- Homeodomain Proteins/genetics*
- Hypothalamus/cytology
- Hypothalamus/embryology*
- Immunohistochemistry
- In Situ Hybridization
- In Situ Nick-End Labeling
- Neurons/cytology*
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Tumor Suppressor Proteins/genetics*
- Zebrafish/embryology*
- Zebrafish/genetics
- Zebrafish Proteins/genetics*
- PubMed
- 18331627 Full text @ BMC Dev. Biol.
Citation
Pistocchi, A., Gaudenzi, G., Carra, S., Bresciani, E., Del Giacco, L., and Cotelli, F. (2008) Crucial role of zebrafish prox1 in hypothalamic catecholaminergic neurons development. BMC Developmental Biology. 8:27.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Prox1, the vertebrate homolog of prospero in Drosophila melanogaster, is a divergent homeogene that regulates cell proliferation, fate determination and differentiation during vertebrate embryonic development. RESULTS: Here we report that, in zebrafish, prox1 is widely expressed in several districts of the Central Nervous System (CNS). Specifically, we evidenced prox1 expression in a group of neurons, already positive for otp1, located in the hypothalamus at the level of the posterior tuberculum (PT). Prox1 knock-down determines the severe loss of hypothalamic catecholaminergic (CA) neurons, identified by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression, and the synergistic prox1/otp1 overexpression induces the appearance of hypothalamic supernumerary TH-positive neurons and ectopic TH-positive cells on the yolk epitelium. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that prox1 activity is crucial for the proper development of the otp1-positive hypothalamic neuronal precursors to their terminal CA phenotype.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping