title: Zinc finger protein too few controls the development of monoaminergic neurons.
abstract: The mechanism controlling the development of dopaminergic (DA) and serotonergic (5HT) neurons in vertebrates is not well understood. Here we characterized a zebrafish mutant--too few (tof)--that develops hindbrain 5HT and noradrenergic neurons, but does not develop hypothalamic DA and 5HT neurons. tof encodes a forebrain-specific zinc finger transcription repressor that is homologous to the mammalian Fezl (forebrain embryonic zinc finger-like protein). Mosaic and co-staining analyses showed that fezl was not expressed in DA or 5HT neurons and instead controlled development of these neurons non-cell-autonomously. Both the eh1-related repressor motif and the second zinc finger domain were necessary for tof function. Our results indicate that tof/fezl is a key component in regulating the development of monoaminergic neurons in the vertebrate brain.
authors.affiliation: Rinat Neuroscience Corporation, 3155 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, California 94304, USA. gillev@rinatneuro.com
authors.forename: Gil
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Levkowitz
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zeller
authors.forename: Howard I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Sirotkin
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schilbach
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hibi
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.forename: Arnon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D016380:Brain Tissue Transplantation; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D054848:Peptaibols; D010455:Peptides; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015027:Zebrafish; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D054848:Peptaibols; D010455:Peptides; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C471725:efrapeptin C; C418489:fezf2 protein, zebrafish; D012701:Serotonin; D004298:Dopamine