title: Thyroid development in zebrafish lacking Taz.
abstract: Taz is a signal-responsive transcriptional coregulator implicated in several biological functions, from chondrogenesis to regulation of organ size. Less well studied, however, is its role in thyroid formation. Here, we explored the in vivo effects on thyroid development of morpholino (MO)-mediated knockdown of wwtr1, the gene encoding zebrafish Taz. The wwtr1 gene is expressed in the thyroid primordium and pharyngeal tissue of developing zebrafish. Compared to mammalian cells, in which Taz promotes expression of thyroid transcription factors and thyroid differentiation genes, wwtr1 MO injection in zebrafish had little or no effect on the expression of thyroid transcription factors, and differentially altered the expression of thyroid differentiation genes. Analysis of wwtr1 morphants at later stages of development revealed that the number and the lumen of thyroid follicles, and the number of thyroid follicle cells, were significantly smaller. In addition, Taz-depleted larvae displayed patterning defects in ventral cranial vessels that correlate with lateral displacement of thyroid follicles. These findings indicate that the zebrafish Taz protein is needed for the normal differentiation of the thyroid and are the first to suggest that Taz confers growth advantage to the endocrine gland.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Endocrinology and Oncology 'G. Salvatore' - CNR, 80131 Naples, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, 56018 Calambrone, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pappalardo
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121 Naples, Italy; IRGS, Biogem, 83031 Ariano Irpino, Avellino, Italy.
authors.forename: Immacolata
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Porreca
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caputi
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Felice
authors.affiliation: Hubrecht Institute-KNAW, University Medical Centre, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schulte-Merker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Endocrinology and Oncology 'G. Salvatore' - CNR, 80131 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Mariastella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zannini
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121 Naples, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.sordino@szn.it.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sordino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics*; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D060172:Morpholinos / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics; D009929:Organ Size / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D000091364:Transcriptional Coactivator with PDZ-Binding Motif Proteins; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D060172:Morpholinos; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000091364:Transcriptional Coactivator with PDZ-Binding Motif Proteins; C000612287:WWTR1 protein, zebrafish; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins
keywords: Follicle; Organ size; Taz; Thyroid; Zebrafish; wwtr1