Isolation and expression of Napor/CUG-BP2 in embryo development.
The human neuroblastoma apoptosis-related RNA-binding protein NAPOR is an ELAV-like RNA-binding protein with three characteristic RNA recognition motifs (RRMs). We report here the cloning and characterization of a zebrafish Napor that has a high sequence homology to human NAPOR protein. Whole-mount in situ hybridization analysis revealed that zebrafish napor is dynamically expressed in early development. In addition to its maternal expression, napor transcripts were detected in adaxial mesoderm cells and lateral neural plate cells at early somite stages. By 10-somite stage, napor expression was restricted to the central nervous system, having a specific expression domain of rhombomere 5 in the hindbrain. In 24 hpf embryo, napor was expressed in subsets of differentiating neural cells in the forebrain and hindbrain as well as somitic muscle cells. The number of napor-expressing neural cells was greatly increased in the mind bomb mutant that has neurogenic phenotype resulting from deficits in the Notch signaling pathway. Furthermore, overexpression of napor by RNA microinjection resulted in severe defects in nervous system and gastrulation, suggesting the need for tight control of napor gene regulation during embryo development.
Choi
Dong-Kug
DK
Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA.
Yoo
Kyeong-Won
KW
Hong
Sung-Kook
SK
Rhee
Myungchull
M
Sakaki
Yoshiyuki
Y
Kim
Cheol-Hee
CH
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000067878:CELF Proteins; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009420:Nervous System / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
D000067878:CELF Proteins; C117363:CELF2 protein, human; D018076:DNA, Complementary; C475153:Napor protein, zebrafish; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins