title: Identification of a tissue-non-specific homologue of axonal fasciculation and elongation protein zeta-1.
abstract: Fasciculation and elongation protein zeta-1 (FEZ1) is a mammalian orthologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-76 protein involved in the axonal outgrowth and fasciculation and promotes neurite extension of PC12 cells through interaction with protein kinase C zeta (PKCzeta). The gene coding for FEZ2, a homologue of FEZ1, has also been reported in rat and human. In this study, we compared mRNA expression of FEZ1 and FEZ2 in adult rat tissues and mouse embryos by Northern blot and in situ hybridization analyses. In contrast to FEZ1 whose mRNA is expressed almost exclusively in rat brain and temporarily around the neurogenesis stage of mouse embryos, the message for FEZ2 is detected weakly in most tissues and abundantly throughout the mouse embryonic stages. Similar to FEZ1, FEZ2 interacted with PKCzeta and induced neurite extension of PC12 cells when coexpressed with a constitutively active mutant of PKCzeta. These results suggest that FEZ2 plays an important role in the morphological changes of various cells by associating with PKCzeta in a tissue-non-specific manner.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshitsugu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ikuta
authors.forename: Juri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Toshihide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okajima
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tatematsu
authors.forename: Katsuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanizawa
authors.forename: Shun'ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuroda
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D019556:COS Cells; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000737:chemistry; D016716:PC12 Cells; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D011485:Protein Binding; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D000099221:Protein Kinase C zeta
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D000099221:Protein Kinase C zeta; C528597:FEZ1 protein, human; C481525:FEZ2 protein, human; C118711:LZTS1 protein, human; C105447:UNC-76 protein, C elegans