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
-
- Immunohistochemistry
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Animals
- Homeodomain Proteins/genetics*
- Cell Differentiation
- PubMed
- 18331627 Full text @ BMC Dev. Biol.
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.
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Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
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Engineered Foreign Genes
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