title: Cloning and embryonic expression of zebrafish PLAG genes.
abstract: PLAG transcription factors play important roles in oncogenesis. To date three members of this subfamily of zinc finger proteins have been identified in humans and mice: PLAG1, PLAGL1 and PLAGL2. In this study, we identified zebrafish orthologs of PLAG1 and PLAGL2 and a novel member of this family, PLAGX. We examined the temporal expression of these three genes by quantitative real time RT-PCR and found that all three genes are maternally provided, expressed at low level during early somitogenesis and, during late somitogenesis and beyond, PLAG expression increases to reach a plateau level around 5 dpf. Whole mount in situ experiments revealed that PLAG1, PLAGL2 and PLAGX display a similar pattern of expression characterized by a low ubiquitous expression overcame by high expression in some restricted compartments such as the ventricular zone of the brain, the pectoral fin buds, the developing pharyngeal arches and the axial vasculature. We show that this pattern resembles the one observed for the proliferative marker PCNA, suggesting that the PLAG genes are expressed more strongly in zones of active proliferation. This hypothesis was proven for the ventricular zone shown to be a highly proliferative zone using the anti-phosphohistone H3 antibody that detects cells in mitosis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire et Génie Génétique, Center for Biomedical Integrated Genoproteomics, University of Liège, B6 4000 Liège (Sart-Tilman), Belgium.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pendeville
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peers
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kas
authors.forename: Marianne L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Voz
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D026801:Synteny; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014157:Transcription Factors; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins