title: Ect2, an ortholog of Drosophila's pebble, negatively regulates neurite outgrowth in neuroblastoma × glioma hybrid NG108-15 cells.
abstract: To identify genes required for brain development, we previously performed in vivo RNA interference (RNAi) screening in Drosophila embryos. We identified pebble as a gene that disrupts development of the Drosophila nervous system. Although pebble has been shown to be involved in neuronal development of Drosophila in several screens, the involvement of Ect2, a mammalian ortholog of pebble, in mammalian neuronal development has not been addressed. To examine the role of Ect2 in neuronal differentiation, we performed Ect2 RNAi in the mouse neuroblastoma × rat glioma NG108-15 cell line. Depletion of Ect2 resulted in an increased proportion of binucleate cells and morphological differentiation of NG108-15 cells characterized by the outgrowth of neurites. These morphological changes were correlated with an increased level of acetylcholine esterase mRNA. In addition, expression of Ect2 was decreased in differentiated NG108-15 cells induced by dibutyryl cyclic AMP. These findings indicate that Ect2 negatively regulates the differentiation of NG108-15 cells and suggest that Ect2 may play a role in neuronal differentiation and brain development in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysical Genetics, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.forename: Chiharu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Higashida
authors.forename: Yasumasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Mohammad Saharul
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Mitsuko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dohmoto
authors.forename: Keita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.forename: Haruhiro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Higashida
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D005910:Glioma / Q000378:metabolism*; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / Q000737:chemistry*; D006822:Hybrid Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016501:Neurites / Q000378:metabolism*; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000378:metabolism*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C080509:Ect2 protein, mouse; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; C121865:Pbl protein, Drosophila; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins