N-CoR is required for patterning the anterior-posterior axis of zebrafish hindbrain by actively repressing retinoid signaling.
Active repression of gene expression mediated by unliganded nuclear receptors plays crucial roles in early development of vertebrates. N-CoR (nuclear receptor co-repressor) is the first identified co-repressor that can repress retinoic acid (RA) inducible gene transcription in the absence of RA. Previously, N-CoR was reported to be required for late-stage organogenesis in mouse but whether N-CoR can affect RA-responsive early embryonic patterning is unknown. In this study, we report molecular cloning of zebrafish orthologue of N-CoR and its wide distribution pattern during zebrafish early development. Knocking down n-cor elevates endogenous RA signaling in zebrafish embryos and posteriorizes the neural ectoderm. Overexpressing or knocking down n-cor in zebrafish embryos alters the length of hindbrain in a manner similar to decreasing or increasing RA signaling in embryos, respectively. Taken together, our results demonstrate that N-CoR is essential for early hindbrain patterning by actively repressing retinoid signaling.
Xu
Fang
F
Model Animal Research Center, MOE Key Laboratory of Model Animal for Disease Study, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210061, China.
Li
Kui
K
Tian
Miao
M
Hu
Ping
P
Song
Wei
W
Chen
Jiong
J
Gao
Xiang
X
Zhao
Qingshun
Q
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000502:physiology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D056970:Co-Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012249:Rhombencephalon / Q000196:embryology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000378:metabolism*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology*
D056970:Co-Repressor Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D014212:Tretinoin