Tbx19, a tissue-selective regulator of POMC gene expression.
Pituitary cell types arise in a temporally and spatially specific fashion, in response to combinatorial actions of transcription factors induced by transient signaling gradients. The critical transcriptional determinants of the two pituitary cell types that express the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene, the anterior lobe corticotropes, producing adrenocorticotropin, and the intermediate lobe melanotropes, producing melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH alpha), have remained unknown. Here, we report that a member of the T-box gene family, Tbx19, which is expressed only in the rostral ventral diencephalon and pituitary gland, commencing on e11.5, marks pituitary cells that will subsequently express the POMC gene and is capable of altering progression of ventral cell types and inducing adrenocorticotropin in rostral tip cells. It is suggested that Tbx19, depending on the presence of synergizing transcription factors, can activate POMC gene expression and repress the alpha glycoprotein subunit and thyroid-stimulating hormone beta promoters.
Liu
J
J
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, School and Department of Medicine, University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, Cellular and Molecular Medicine West, Room 345, La Jolla, CA 92093-0648, USA.
Lin
C
C
Gleiberman
A
A
Ohgi
K A
KA
Herman
T
T
Huang
H P
HP
Tsai
M J
MJ
Rosenfeld
M G
MG
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006367:HeLa Cells; D018257:Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000196:embryology; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology
D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D011333:Pro-Opiomelanocortin; D020825:T-Box Domain Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014157:Transcription Factors; C093970:NEUROD1 protein, human; C501008:Neurod1 protein, mouse; C486589:TBX19 protein, human; C424031:Tbx19 protein, mouse