title: Drosophila heparan sulfate 3-O sulfotransferase B null mutant is viable and exhibits no defects in Notch signaling.
abstract: Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are critically involved in a variety of biological events. The functions of HSPGs are determined by the nature of the core proteins and modifications of heparan sulfate (HS) glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains. The distinct O-sulfotransferases are important for nonrandom modifications at specific positions. Two HS 3-O sulfotransferase (Hs3st) genes, Hs3st-A and Hs3st-B, were identified in Drosophila. Previous experiments using RNA interference (RNAi) suggested that Hs3st-B was required for Notch signaling. Here, we generated a null mutant of Hs3st-B via ends-out gene targeting and examined its role(s) in development. We found that homozygous Hs3st-B mutants have no neurogenic defects or alterations in the expression of Notch signaling target gene. Thus, our results strongly argue against an essential role for Hs3st-B in Notch signaling. Moreover, we have generated two independent Hs3st-A RNAi lines which worked to deplete Hs3st-A. Importantly, Hs3st-A RNAi combined with Hs3st-B mutant flies did not alter the expression of Notch signaling components, arguing that both Hs3st-A and Hs3st-B were not essential for Notch signaling. The establishment of Hs3st-B mutant and effective Hs3st-A RNAi lines provides essential tools for further studies of the physiological roles of Hs3st-A and Hs3st-B in development and homeostasis.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors: Yueqin
authors: Y
authors: Guo
authors: School of Optometry and Ophthalmology and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China; State Key Laboratory of Stress Cell Biology, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361005, China.
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Feng
authors: State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; School of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China. Electronic address: zhouhua@ioz.ac.cn.
authors: Zhouhua
authors: Z
authors: Li
authors: State Key Laboratory of Biomembrane and Membrane Biotechnology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA. Electronic address: xinhua.lin@cchmc.org.
authors: Xinhua
authors: X
authors: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D017353:Gene Deletion; D059765:Homologous Recombination; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015238:Sulfotransferases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D051880:Receptors, Notch; D015238:Sulfotransferases; C021350:heparitin sulfotransferase
keywords: Drosophila; Hs3st-A; Hs3st-B; Notch; heparan sulfate proteoglycans