CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α is required for hepatic outgrowth via the p53 pathway in zebrafish.
CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/ebpα) is a transcription factor that plays important roles in the regulation of hepatogenesis, adipogenesis and hematopoiesis. Disruption of the C/EBPα gene in mice leads to disturbed liver architecture and neonatal death due to hypoglycemia. However, the precise stages of liver development affected by C/ebpα loss are poorly studied. Using the zebrafish embryo as a model organism, we show that inactivation of the cebpa gene by TALENs results in a small liver phenotype. Further studies reveal that C/ebpα is distinctively required for hepatic outgrowth but not for hepatoblast specification. Lack of C/ebpα leads to enhanced hepatic cell proliferation and subsequent increased cell apoptosis. Additional loss of p53 can largely rescue the hepatic defect in cebpa mutants, suggesting that C/ebpα plays a role in liver growth regulation via the p53 pathway. Thus, our findings for the first time demonstrate a stage-specific role for C/ebpα during liver organogenesis.
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Hao
H
Yuan
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Bin
B
Wen
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Xiaohui
X
Liu
Key Laboratory for Molecular Animal Nutrition, Ministry of Education, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Ce
C
Gao
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Ruimeng
R
Yang
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Luxiang
L
Wang
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Saijuan
S
Chen
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Zhu
Z
Chen
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.|Université de Paris 7/INSERM/CNRS UMR 944/7212, Equipe Labellisée No. 11 Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, Hôpital St. Louis, Paris, France.
Hugues
H
de The
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Jun
J
Zhou
CNRS-LIA124, Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.|Université de Paris 7/INSERM/CNRS UMR 944/7212, Equipe Labellisée No. 11 Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, Hôpital St. Louis, Paris, France.
Jun
J
Zhu
D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000196:embryology*; D051379:Mice; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D022762:CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Proteins; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins