title: A role for Xenopus Gli-type zinc finger proteins in the early embryonic patterning of mesoderm and neuroectoderm.
abstract: Gli-type zinc finger proteins play important regulatory roles in vertebrate and invertebrate embryogenesis. In Xenopus, the Gli-type proteins XGli-3 and XGli-4 are first expressed in earliest stages of mesoderm and neural development. Transient transfection assays reveal that XGli-3 and XGli-4 can function as transcription repressors. Counteracting the Gli-protein repressor activity by ectopic expression of a fusion protein that contains the Gli-zinc finger cluster connected to the E1A activator domain in Xenopus embryos results in specific morphological alterations in the developing somites and in the central nervous system. Altered expression characteristics for a broad set of molecular markers highlighting specific aspects of mesodermal and neural differentiation demonstrate an important role for Gli-type zinc finger proteins in the early mesodermal and neural patterning of Xenopus embryos.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire et de Génie Génétique, Université de Liège, Sart-Tilman, Belgium.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Marine
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Bellefroid
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pendeville
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Martial
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pieler
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics; D004475:Ectoderm / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors; D014162:Transfection; D014981:Xenopus / Q000235:genetics*; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D000074290:Zinc Finger Protein Gli3; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C108004:GLI2 protein, Xenopus; C108003:GLI3 protein, Xenopus; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D000074290:Zinc Finger Protein Gli3