Hedgehog (Hh) signaling regulates cell differentiation and patterning in a wide variety of embryonic tissues. In vertebrates, at least three Gli transcription factors (Gli1, Gli2, and Gli3) are involved in Hh signal transduction. Comparative studies have revealed divergent requirements for Gli1 and Gli2 in zebrafish and mouse. Here, we address the question of whether Gli3 function has also diverged in zebrafish and analyze the regulatory interactions between Hh signaling and Gli activity. We find that zebrafish Gli3 has an early function as an activator of Hh target genes that overlaps with Gli1 activator function in the ventral neural tube. In vitro reporter analysis shows that Gli3 cooperates with Gli1 to activate transcription in the presence of high concentrations of Hh. During late somitogenesis stages, Gli3 is required as a repressor of the Hh response. Gli3 shares this repressor activity with Gli2 in the dorsal spinal cord, hindbrain, and midbrain, but not in the forebrain. Consistently, zebrafish Gli3 blocks Gli1-mediated activation of a reporter gene in the absence of Hh in vitro. In the eye, Gli3 is also required for proper ath5 expression and the differentiation of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). These results reveal a conserved role for Gli3 in vertebrate development and uncover novel regional functions and regulatory interactions among gli genes.

The Shh protein contains both N-terminal and C-terminal lipids. The functional redundancy of these lipid moieties is presently unclear. Here, we compare the relative roles of the N- and C-terminal lipids in early rat striatal neuronal differentiation, membrane association and multimerization,and ventralizing activity in the zebrafish forebrain. We show that these lipid act synergistically in cell tethering and the formation of a large (L)multimer (669 kDa). However, the C-terminal lipid antagonizes the rat striatal neuronal differentiation-inducing activity of the N-terminal lipid. In addition, multimerization is required but not sufficient for the differentiation-inducing activity. Based on the presence of different N- and C-lipid-containing Shh proteins in the rat embryo, and on their different activities, we propose that both N- and C-terminal lipids are required for the formation of multimers involved in long-range signaling, and that the C-terminal lipid may function in long-range signaling by reducing Shh activity until it reaches its long-range target. Comparative analysis of the ventralizing activities of different N- and C-terminal lipid-containing Shh proteins in the zebrafish forebrain shows that the presence of at least one lipid is required for signaling activity, suggesting that lipid modification of Shh is a conserved requirement for signaling in the forebrain of rodents and zebrafish.

Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling helps pattern the vertebrate neural tube, in part by regulating the dorsal/ventral expression of a number of homeodomain containing transcription factors. These Hh responsive genes have been divided into two classes, with Class II genes being activated by Hh signaling and Class I genes being repressed by Hh signaling. While the transcriptional response to varying Hh levels is well defined in chick and mouse, it is only partially described in zebrafish, despite the fact that zebrafish has emerged as a powerful genetic system for the study of neural patterning. To better characterize the Hh response in the zebrafish neural tube, we cloned the zebrafish Class II Hh target genes nkx2.9 and nkx6.2. We then analyzed the expression of a number of Class I and Class II Hh responsive genes in wild type, Hh mutant, and Hh over-expressing zebrafish embryos. We show that expression of Class I and Class II genes is highly conserved in the vertebrate neural tube. Further, ventral-most Class II gene expression was completely lost in all Hh pathway mutants analyzed, indicating high levels of Hh signaling are blocked in all of these mutants. In contrast, more dorsally expressed genes were variably affected in different Hh pathway mutants, indicating mid-levels of Hh signaling are differentially affected. This comprehensive expression study provides an important tool for the characterization of Hh signaling in zebrafish and provides a sensitive assay for determining the degree to which newly identified zebrafish mutants affect Hh signaling. dbx1a; dbx2; hlx1; hlxb9; irx1a; irx3a; irx5; nkx2.2a; nkx2.9; nkx6.1; nkx6.2; pax3; pax6a; pax7; chameleon; detour; slow muscle omitted; you-too; cyclopamine; floorplate; motor neurons Keywords Results and DiscussionSecreted proteins of the Hedgehog (Hh) family are well known for their role in patterning the vertebrate and invertebrate embryo (Ingham and McMahon, 2001). During development, Hh functions in a concentration dependent manner to influence cell differentiation (Ericson et al., 1997a). Hh can also act as a survival factor (Miao et al., 1997) or a mitogen (Dahmane et al., 2001) to help shape the embryo. The morphogen activity of Hh has been well studied in the neural tube of chick and mouse (Ericson et al., 1995;Wijgerde et al., 2002), where Hh secreted from the notochord induces floorplate and ventral neural fates based on the concentration of Hh seen by a neural progenitor cell (Echelard et al., 1993). Cells respond to Hh through a * Corresponding author (e-mail: Karlstrom@bio.umass.edu) Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers t...

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is necessary for the induction and functional patterning of the pituitary placode, however the mechanisms by which Hh signals are interpreted by placodal cells are unknown. Here we show distinct temporal requirements for Hh signaling in endocrine cell differentiation and describe a dynamic Gli transcriptional response code that interprets these Hh signals within the developing adenohypophysis. Gli1 is required for the differentiation of selected endocrine cell types and acts as the major activator of Hh-mediated pituitary induction, while Gli2a and Gli2b contribute more minor activator functions. Intriguingly, this Gli response code changes as development proceeds. Gli1 continues to be required for the activation of the Hh response anteriorly in the pars distalis. In contrast, Gli2b is required to repress Hh target gene expression posteriorly in the pars intermedia. Consistent with these changing roles, gli1, gli2a, and gli2b, but not gli3, are expressed in pituitary precursor cells at the anterior neural ridge. Later in development, gli1 expression is maintained throughout the adenohypophysis while gli2a and gli2b expression are restricted to the pars intermedia. Given the link between Hh signaling and pituitary adenomas in humans, our data suggest misregulation of Gli function may contribute to these common pituitary tumors.

The vertebrate adenohypophysis forms as a placode at the anterior margin of the neural plate, requiring both hedgehog (Hh) and fibroblast growth factor (Fgf) mediated cell-cell signaling for induction and survival of endocrine cell types. Using small molecule inhibitors to modulate signaling levels during zebrafish development we show that graded Hh and Fgf signaling independently help establish the two subdomains of the adenohypophysis, the anteriorly located pars distalis (PD) and the posterior pars intermedia (PI). High levels of Hh signaling are required for formation of the PD and differentiation of anterior endocrine cell types, whereas lower levels of Hh signaling are required for formation of the PI and differentiation of posterior endocrine cell types. In contrast, high Fgf signaling levels are required for formation of the PI and posterior endocrine cell differentiation, whereas anterior regions require lower levels of Fgf signaling. Based on live observations and marker analyses, we show that the PD forms first at the midline closest to the central nervous system source of Sonic hedgehog. In contrast the PI appears to form from more lateral/posterior cells close to a central nervous system source of Fgf3. Together our data show that graded Hh and Fgf signaling independently direct induction of the PD and PI and help establish endocrine cell fates along the anterior/posterior axis of the zebrafish adenohypophysis. These data suggest that there are distinct origins and signaling requirements for the PD and PI.