Pioneer transcription factors can engage nucleosomal DNA, which leads to local chromatin remodeling and to the establishment of transcriptional competence. However, the impact of enhancer priming by pioneer factors on the temporal control of gene expression and on mitotic memory remains unclear. Here we employ quantitative live imaging methods and mathematical modeling to test the effect of the pioneer factor Zelda on transcriptional dynamics and memory in Drosophila embryos. We demonstrate that increasing the number of Zelda binding sites accelerates the kinetics of nuclei transcriptional activation regardless of their transcriptional past. Despite its known pioneering activities, we show that Zelda does not remain detectably associated with mitotic chromosomes and is neither necessary nor sufficient to foster memory. We further reveal that Zelda forms sub-nuclear dynamic hubs where Zelda binding events are transient. We propose that Zelda facilitates transcriptional activation by accumulating in microenvironments where it could accelerate the duration of multiple pre-initiation steps.
Synaptic target specificity, whereby neurons make distinct types of synapses with different target cells, is critical for brain function, yet the mechanisms driving it are poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate Kirrel3 regulates target-specific synapse formation at hippocampal mossy fiber (MF) synapses, which connect dentate granule (DG) neurons to both CA3 and GABAergic neurons. Here, we show Kirrel3 is required for formation of MF filopodia; the structures that give rise to DG-GABA synapses and that regulate feed-forward inhibition of CA3 neurons. Consequently, loss of Kirrel3 robustly increases CA3 neuron activity in developing mice. Alterations in the Kirrel3 gene are repeatedly associated with intellectual disabilities, but the role of Kirrel3 at synapses remained largely unknown. Our findings demonstrate that subtle synaptic changes during development impact circuit function and provide the first insight toward understanding the cellular basis of Kirrel3-dependent neurodevelopmental disorders.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09395.001
Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR) is a congenital heart defect inherited via complex genetic and/or environmental factors. We report detailed mapping in extended TAPVR kindreds and mutation analysis in TAPVR patients that implicate the PDGFRA gene in the development of TAPVR. Gene expression studies in mouse and chick embryos for both the Pdgfra receptor and its ligand Pdgf-a show temporal and spatial patterns consistent with a role in pulmonary vein (PV) development. We used an in ovo function blocking assay in chick and a conditional knockout approach in mouse to knock down Pdgfra expression in the developing venous pole during the period of PV formation. We observed that loss of PDGFRA function in both organisms causes TAPVR with low penetrance (approximately 7%) reminiscent of that observed in our human TAPVR kindreds. Intermediate inflow tract anomalies occurred in a higher percentage of embryos (approximately 30%), suggesting that TAPVR occurs at one end of a spectrum of defects. We show that the anomalous pulmonary venous connection seen in chick and mouse is highly similar to TAPVR discovered in an abnormal early stage embryo from the Kyoto human embryo collection. Whereas the embryology of the normal venous pole and PV is becoming understood, little is known about the embryogenesis or molecular pathogenesis of TAPVR. These models of TAPVR provide important insight into the pathogenesis of PV defects. Taken together, these data from human genetics and animal models support a role for PDGF-signaling in normal PV development, and in the pathogenesis of TAPVR.
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