Feed-back mechanisms affecting Notch activation at the dorsoventral boundary in the Drosophila wing

Development ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 124 (17) ◽  
pp. 3241-3251 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.F. Celis de ◽  
S. Bray

Notch function is required at the dorsoventral boundary of the developing Drosophila wing for its normal growth and patterning. We find that clones of cells expressing either Notch or its ligands Delta and Serrate in the wing mimic Notch activation at the dorsoventral boundary producing non-autonomous effects on proliferation, and activating expression of the target genes E(spl), wingless and cut. The analysis of these clones reveals several mechanisms important for maintaining and delimiting Notch function at the dorsoventral boundary. First, Notch activation in the wing leads to increased production of Delta and Serrate generating a positive feedback loop that maintains signalling. We propose that during normal development, wingless co-operates with Notch to reinforce this positive feedback and Cut, which is activated by Notch at late stages, acts antagonistically to prevent Delta and Serrate expression. Second, high levels of Delta and Serrate have a dominant negative effect on Notch, so that at late stages Notch can only be activated in cells next to the ligand-producing cells. Thus the combined effects of Notch and its target genes cut and wingless regulate the expression of Notch ligands which restrict Notch activity to the dorsoventral boundary.

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-133
Author(s):  
Sumito Dateki ◽  
Kitaro Kosaka ◽  
Kosei Hasegawa ◽  
Hiroyuki Tanaka ◽  
Noriyuki Azuma ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Context Although recent studies have suggested a positive role of OTX2 in pituitary as well as ocular development and function, detailed pituitary phenotypes in OTX2 mutations and OTX2 target genes for pituitary function other than HESX1 and POU1F1 remain to be determined. Objective We aimed to examine such unresolved issues. Subjects We studied 94 Japanese patients with various ocular or pituitary abnormalities. Results We identified heterozygous p.K74fsX103 in case 1, p.A72fsX86 in case 2, p.G188X in two unrelated cases (3 and 4), and a 2,860,561-bp microdeletion involving OTX2 in case 5. Clinical studies revealed isolated GH deficiency in cases 1 and 5; combined pituitary hormone deficiency in case 3; abnormal pituitary structures in cases 1, 3, and 5; and apparently normal pituitary function in cases 2 and 4, together with ocular anomalies in cases 1-5. The wild-type Orthodenticle homeobox 2 (OTX2) protein transactivated the GNRH1 promoter as well as the HESX1, POU1F1, and IRBP (interstitial retinoid-binding protein) promoters, whereas the p.K74fsX103-OTX2 and p.A72fsX86-OTX2 proteins had no transactivation functions and the p.G188X-OTX2 protein had reduced (∼50%) transactivation functions for the four promoters, with no dominant-negative effect. cDNA screening identified positive OTX2 expression in the hypothalamus. Conclusions The results imply that OTX2 mutations are associated with variable pituitary phenotype, with no genotype-phenotype correlations, and that OTX2 can transactivate GNRH1 as well as HESX1 and POU1F1.


2010 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 756-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumito Dateki ◽  
Kitaro Kosaka ◽  
Kosei Hasegawa ◽  
Hiroyuki Tanaka ◽  
Noriyuki Azuma ◽  
...  

Abstract Context: Although recent studies have suggested a positive role of OTX2 in pituitary as well as ocular development and function, detailed pituitary phenotypes in OTX2 mutations and OTX2 target genes for pituitary function other than HESX1 and POU1F1 remain to be determined. Objective: We aimed to examine such unresolved issues. Subjects: We studied 94 Japanese patients with various ocular or pituitary abnormalities. Results: We identified heterozygous p.K74fsX103 in case 1, p.A72fsX86 in case 2, p.G188X in two unrelated cases (3 and 4), and a 2,860,561-bp microdeletion involving OTX2 in case 5. Clinical studies revealed isolated GH deficiency in cases 1 and 5; combined pituitary hormone deficiency in case 3; abnormal pituitary structures in cases 1, 3, and 5; and apparently normal pituitary function in cases 2 and 4, together with ocular anomalies in cases 1–5. The wild-type Orthodenticle homeobox 2 (OTX2) protein transactivated the GNRH1 promoter as well as the HESX1, POU1F1, and IRBP (interstitial retinoid-binding protein) promoters, whereas the p.K74fsX103-OTX2 and p.A72fsX86-OTX2 proteins had no transactivation functions and the p.G188X-OTX2 protein had reduced (∼50%) transactivation functions for the four promoters, with no dominant-negative effect. cDNA screening identified positive OTX2 expression in the hypothalamus. Conclusions: The results imply that OTX2 mutations are associated with variable pituitary phenotype, with no genotype-phenotype correlations, and that OTX2 can transactivate GNRH1 as well as HESX1 and POU1F1.


Development ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 122 (9) ◽  
pp. 2709-2718 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Miskiewicz ◽  
D. Morrissey ◽  
Y. Lan ◽  
L. Raj ◽  
S. Kessler ◽  
...  

Drosophila paired, a homolog of mammalian Pax-3, is key to the coordinated regulation of segment-polarity genes during embryogenesis. The paired gene and its homologs are unusual in encoding proteins with two DNA-binding domains, a paired domain and a homeodomain. We are using an in vivo assay to dissect the functions of the domains of this type of molecule. In particular, we are interested in determining whether one or both DNA-binding activities are required for individual in vivo functions of Paired. We constructed point mutants in each domain designed to disrupt DNA binding and tested the mutants with ectopic expression assays in Drosophila embryos. Mutations in either domain abolished the normal regulation of the target genes engrailed, hedgehog, gooseberry and even-skipped, suggesting that these in vivo functions of Paired require DNA binding through both domains rather than either domain alone. However, when the two mutant proteins were placed in the same embryo, Paired function was restored, indicating that the two DNA-binding activities need not be present in the same molecule. Quantitation of this effect shows that the paired domain mutant has a dominant-negative effect consistent with the observations that Paired protein can bind DNA as a dimer.


Oncogene ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 23 (13) ◽  
pp. 2330-2338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Willis ◽  
Eun Joo Jung ◽  
Therese Wakefield ◽  
Xinbin Chen

Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 1545-1545
Author(s):  
Brandon J Aubrey ◽  
Ana Janic ◽  
Yunshun Chen ◽  
Gordon K Smyth ◽  
Andrew J Kueh ◽  
...  

Abstract Over-expression of the c-MYC oncogene and Trp53 gene mutations are among the most common genetic alterations in human cancer and, when combined, result in highly aggressive malignant disease. Trp53 gene mutations produce over-expressed mutant TRP53 proteins that drive cancer growth through both loss of wild-type Trp53 tumor suppressor function and gain-of-function oncogenic properties. The Eμ-Myc mouse model provides a setting to study the functional interplay between c-Myc over-expression and mutant TRP53 proteins. Eμ-Myc transgenic mice carry a c-Myc transgene under the control of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene enhancer (Eμ), recapitulating the chromosomal translocation underlying human Burkitt Lymphoma, and develop aggressive pre-B/B cell lymphoma with a high (~20%) spontaneous rate of Trp53 mutation. The effect of five mouse mutant TRP53 proteins (V170M, I192S, G280, R246Q, R270H) was initially examined in three settings (Trp53-/-, Trp53+/- and Trp53+/+;Eμ-Myc) using a hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) reconstitution model. Each mutant TRP53 protein studied corresponds to a commonly re-occurring Tp53 mutation in human cancer. Retroviral over-expression enabled the comparison of mutant-specific and genotype-specific features for each mutant TRP53 protein. Mutant TRP53 expression did not accelerate lymphoma development in mice receiving Trp53-/- or Trp53+/- HSPCs. However, mice reconstituted with Trp53+/- HSPCs expressing the TRP53 mutants displayed an altered tumor spectrum compared to mice reconstituted with control Trp53+/- HSPCs. In contrast, mutant TRP53 markedly accelerated lymphoma development in mice receiving Trp53+/+;Eμ-Myc HSPCs, highlighting a synergy between c-Myc over-expression and Trp53 mutations in neoplastic transformation. Furthermore, inducible mutant TRP53 expression demonstrated a dependency on sustained expression of mutant TRP53 in established MYC-driven lymphomas. Notably, none of the c-MYC plus mutant TRP53 driven lymphomas exhibited spontaneous endogenous Trp53 mutations. Despite the enhanced tumorigenesis, most established lymphomas from this model displayed sensitivity to TRP53-activating drugs consistent with a weak dominant negative effect over wild-type Trp53-induced apoptosis. Consistent with this finding, pre-malignant Trp53+/+;Eμ-Myc primary B-cells expressing mutant TRP53 were not protected against Trp53-induced apoptosis. Pre-malignant B-cells displayed a small increase in cell cycling and an expansion of the tumor-initiating pre/pro-B cell population. Most significantly, functional assessment of DNA damage in pre-malignant cells, using single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) and γ-H2AX staining, revealed increased DNA damage, suggesting an important role for defects in DNA repair during mutant TRP53-driven lymphoma development. To investigate the nature of the dominant negative effect, mutant TRP53 protein was exogenously expressed in mouse Eµ-Myc Trp53+/+ lymphoma cell lines. The impact of mutant TRP53 on the transcriptional function of the endogenous wild-type TRP53 protein was then studied using the TRP53-activating compound, nutlin-3a. Surprisingly, in established lymphoma cell lines, mutant TRP53 impaired nutlin-3a-induced apoptosis despite substantial induction of the critical pro-apoptotic effector, PUMA. To explore this finding further, we globally characterized the dominant negative effect, and assessed for mutant TRP53-specific transcriptional targets, by performing whole transcriptome sequence (RNAseq) analysis after treatment with nutlin-3a. Analysis of known wild-type Trp53 target genes (n=283) demonstrated that the induction of these genes as a group was repressed in the presence of the mutant TRP53 protein (ROAST test, p=6.7e-04). Remarkably, however, mutant TRP53 significantly repressed only 57% of the nutlin-3a-induced Trp53 target genes. Analysis of these strongly repressed genes highlighted the importance of several pathways, including metabolism, DNA damage repair and negative feedback loops in TRP53 signaling. This suggests a previously unrecognized selectivity of the dominant-negative-effect for certain p53 pathways that may be important in cancer initiation. Additional mutant TRP53-specific transcriptional targets were also identified and are under further investigation. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1552-1564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramasamy Paulmurugan ◽  
Anobel Tamrazi ◽  
John A. Katzenellenbogen ◽  
Benita S. Katzenellenbogen ◽  
Sanjiv S. Gambhir

Abstract Estrogens, acting through the estrogen receptors (ERs), play crucial roles in regulating the function of reproductive and other systems under physiological and pathological conditions. ER activity in regulating target genes is modulated by the binding of both steroidal and synthetic nonsteroidal ligands, with ligand binding inducing ERs to adopt various conformations that control their interactions with transcriptional coregulators. Previously, we developed an intramolecular folding sensor with a mutant form of ERα (ERG521T) that proved to be essentially unresponsive to the endogenous ligand 17β-estradiol, yet responded very well to certain synthetic ligands. In this study, we have characterized this G521T-ER mutation in terms of the potency and efficacy of receptor response toward several steroidal and nonsteroidal ligands in two different ways: directly, by ligand effects on mutant ER conformation (by the split-luciferase complementation system), and indirectly, by ligand effects on mutant ER transactivation. Full-length G521T-ER shows no affinity for estradiol and does not activate an estrogen-responsive reporter gene. The synthetic pyrazole agonist ligand propyl-pyrazole-triol is approximately 100-fold more potent than estradiol in inducing intramolecular folding and reporter gene transactivation with the mutant ER, whereas both ligands have high potency on wild-type ER. This estradiol-unresponsive mutant ER can also specifically highlight the agonistic property of the selective ER modulator, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, by reporter gene transactivation, even in the presence of estradiol, and it can exert a dominant-negative effect on estrogen-stimulated wild-type ER. This system provides a model for ER-mutants that show differential ligand responsiveness to gene activation to gain insight into the phenomenon of hormone resistance observed in endocrine therapies of ER-positive breast cancers.


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 1455-1462
Author(s):  
José L Barra ◽  
Mario R Mautino ◽  
Alberto L Rosa

eth-1r a thermosensitive allele of the Neurospora crassa S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) synthetase gene that confers ethionine resistance, has been cloned and sequenced. Replacement of an aspartic amino acid residue (D48 → N48), perfectly conserved in prokaryotic, fungal and higher eukaryotic AdoMet synthetases, was found responsible for both thermosensitivity and ethionine resistance conferred by eth-1r. Gene fusion constructs, designed to overexpress eth-1r in vivo, render transformant cells resistant to ethionine. Dominance of ethionine resistance was further demonstrated in eth-1  +/eth-1r partial diploids carrying identical gene doses of both alleles. Heterozygous eth-1  +/eth-1r cells have, at the same time, both the thermotolerance conferred by eth-1  + and the ethionine-resistant phenotype conferred by eth-1r. AdoMet levels and AdoMet synthetase activities were dramatically decreased in heterozygous eth-1  +/eth-1r cells. We propose that this negative effect exerted by eth-1r results from the in vivo formation of heteromeric eth-1  +/eth-1r AdoMet synthetase molecules.


Genetics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 162 (2) ◽  
pp. 633-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Cuperus ◽  
David Shore

Abstract We previously described two classes of SIR2 mutations specifically defective in either telomeric/HM silencing (class I) or rDNA silencing (class II) in S. cerevisiae. Here we report the identification of genes whose protein products, when either overexpressed or directly tethered to the locus in question, can establish silencing in SIR2 class I mutants. Elevated dosage of SCS2, previously implicated as a regulator of both inositol biosynthesis and telomeric silencing, suppressed the dominant-negative effect of a SIR2-143 mutation. In a genetic screen for proteins that restore silencing when tethered to a telomere, we isolated ESC2 and an uncharacterized gene, (YOL017w), which we call ESC8. Both Esc2p and Esc8p interact with Sir2p in two-hybrid assays, and the Esc8p-Sir2 interaction is detected in vitro. Interestingly, Esc8p has a single close homolog in yeast, the ISW1-complex factor Ioc3p, and has also been copurified with Isw1p, raising the possibility that Esc8p is a component of an Isw1p-containing nucleosome remodeling complex. Whereas esc2 and esc8 deletion mutants alone have only marginal silencing defects, cells lacking Isw1p show a strong silencing defect at HMR but not at telomeres. Finally, we show that Esc8p interacts with the Gal11 protein, a component of the RNA pol II mediator complex.


Blood ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 93 (12) ◽  
pp. 4154-4166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Ilaria ◽  
Robert G. Hawley ◽  
Richard A. Van Etten

Abstract STAT5 is a member of the signal transducers and activation of transcription (STAT) family of latent transcription factors activated in a variety of cytokine signaling pathways. We introduced alanine substitution mutations in highly conserved regions of murine STAT5A and studied the mutants for dimerization, DNA binding, transactivation, and dominant negative effects on erythropoietin-induced STAT5-dependent transcriptional activation. The mutations included two near the amino-terminus (W255KR→AAA and R290QQ→AAA), two in the DNA-binding domain (E437E→AA and V466VV→AAA), and a carboxy-terminal truncation of STAT5A (STAT5A/▵53C) analogous to a naturally occurring isoform of rat STAT5B. All of the STAT mutant proteins were tyrosine phosphorylated by JAK2 and heterodimerized with STAT5B except for the WKR mutant, suggesting an important role for this region in STAT5 for stabilizing dimerization. The WKR, EE, and VVV mutants had no detectable DNA-binding activity, and the WKR and VVV mutants, but not EE, were defective in transcriptional induction. The VVV mutant had a moderate dominant negative effect on erythropoietin-induced STAT5 transcriptional activation, which was likely due to the formation of heterodimers that are defective in DNA binding. Interestingly, the WKR mutant had a potent dominant negative effect, comparable to the transactivation domain deletion mutant, ▵53C. Stable expression of either the WKR or ▵53C STAT5 mutants in the murine myeloid cytokine-dependent cell line 32D inhibited both interleukin-3–dependent proliferation and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)–dependent differentiation, without induction of apoptosis. Expression of these mutants in primary murine bone marrow inhibited G-CSF–dependent granulocyte colony formation in vitro. These results demonstrate that mutations in distinct regions of STAT5 exert dominant negative effects on cytokine signaling, likely through different mechanisms, and suggest a role for STAT5 in proliferation and differentiation of myeloid cells.


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