ELT-1, a GATA-like transcription factor, is required for epidermal cell fates in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos.

Page, Barbara D.; Zhang, W; Steward, Keith L.; Blumenthal, T; Priess, James R

doi:10.1101/gad.11.13.1651

Cited by 105 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The expression of ELT-1 and ELT-3 is limited to embryonic epidermal and hypodermal cells, respectively (51,52). The GATA factor END-1 is involved in the development of the nematode intestine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation of Metallothionein Gene Transcription

Moilanen¹,

Fukushige²,

Freedman³

1999

Journal of Biological Chemistry

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Metallothioneins are small, cysteine-rich proteins that function in metal detoxification and homeostasis. Metallothionein transcription is controlled by cell-specific factors, as well as developmentally modulated and metal-responsive pathways. By using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system, the mechanism that controls cell-specific metallothionein transcription in vivo was investigated. The inducible expression of the C. elegans metallothionein genes, mtl-1 and mtl-2, occurs exclusively in intestinal cells. Sequence comparisons of these genes with other C. elegans intestinal cell-specific genes identified multiple repeats of GATA transcription factor-binding sites (i.e. GATA elements). In vivo deletion and site-directed mutation analyses confirm that one GATA element in mtl-1 and two in mtl-2 are required for transcription. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays show that the C. elegans GATA transcription factor ELT-2 specifically binds to these elements. Ectopic expression of ELT-2 in non-intestinal cells of C. elegans activates mtl-2 transcription in these cells. Likewise, mtl-2 is not expressed in nematodes in which elt-2 has been disrupted. These results indicate that cell-specific transcription of the C. elegans metallothionein genes is regulated by the binding of ELT-2 to GATA elements in these promoters. Furthermore, a model is proposed where ELT-2 constitutively activates metallothionein expression; however, a second metal-responsive factor prevents transcription in the absence of metals. Metallothioneins (MT)1 are a family of structurally related, low molecular weight, cysteine-rich proteins (1). The precise physiological role of MT has not been elucidated. However, evolutionary conservation across many phyla suggests that it serves important roles in cell function. Proposed roles include the following: (a) participation in maintaining the homeostasis of essential trace metals; (b) sequestration of toxic metals, such as cadmium and mercury; (c) acting as a reservoir of essential metals that can be donated to other metalloproteins; and (d) protection against intracellular oxidative damage (2).Exposure of cultured cells or whole organisms to transition metals, ionizing radiation, heat-shock, or oxidative stress induces MT transcription (1, 3-5). Metallothioneins typically occur in multigene families. The mammalian MT family consists of four members designated MT-I to MT-IV (6). It has been commented that all organisms express MT or MT-like proteins. However, not all tissues within an organism will express all MT isoforms. Numerous studies indicate that individual MT family members display specific cellular patterns of expression. Typically, MT-I and MT-II genes are coordinately expressed. It has been shown, however, that MT-2A mRNA levels do not increase in response to cadmium exposure in human proximal tubule cells (7). Expression of the human MT-I B , MT-I E , MT-I F , and MT-I G genes varies in a cell line-specific manner in response to transition metals (8 -12). Mouse MT-I is weakly exp...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulation of Metallothionein Gene Transcription

Moilanen¹,

Fukushige²,

Freedman³

1999

Journal of Biological Chemistry

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“…† We were unable to establish elt-1::yfp reporter lines (consistent with B. Page's rescue experiments) and therefore rely on the published expression pattern (Page et al, 1997).…”

Section: Development 132 (8)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The embryonic function of these four genes has been described in the literature, and they affect specification, differentiation or morphogenesis of C-lineage cells. Zygotic pal-1 function is required for proper morphogenesis of the C lineage (Edgar et al, 2001), elt-1 is required for specification of the epidermis (Page et al, 1997), hlh-1 is required for differentiation of the muscle (Chen et al, 1994) and nob-1 is required for morphogenesis of the posterior epidermis (Van Auken et al, 2000). RNAi of several of the other genes produced postembryonic phenotypes indicative of a function in posterior morphogenesis.…”

Section: Pal-1 Targets Affect Specification Differentiation and Morpmentioning

confidence: 99%

The homeodomain protein PAL-1 specifies a lineage-specific regulatory network in theC. elegansembryo

Hill²,

et al. 2005

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analysis demonstrates that the identified PAL-1 target genes affect specification, differentiation and morphogenesis of C-lineage cells. In particular, we show that cell fate-specific genes (or tissue identity genes) and a posterior HOX gene are activated in lineage-specific fashion. Transcription of targets is initiated in four temporal phases, which together with their spatial expression patterns leads to a model of the regulatory network specified by PAL-1.

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“…These hypodermal cell fates are specified in the embryo by the action of GATA and other transcription factors (Chisholm and Hardin, 2005;Herman, 2006). First, the GATA factor ELT-1 is required for embryonic blastomeres to adopt hypodermal fates and not neural or muscle fates (Page et al, 1997). The dorsal hypodermal cells, which contribute to the hyp 7 syncytium, are specified by the action of ELT-1, the GATA factor ELT-3 (Gilleard and McGhee, 2001) and the zinc-finger protein LIN-26 (Labouesse et al, 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the early C. elegans embryo, the decision of cells to become epidermal is under control of the GATA transcription factor ELT-1; epidermal-fated cells adopt muscle or neural fates in elt-1 mutant embryos (Page et al, 1997). These epidermal cells then adopt one of three identities: dorsal hypodermis, lateral seam cell or ventrolateral P cell (Herman, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

C. elegansGATA factors EGL-18 and ELT-6 function downstream of Wnt signaling to maintain the progenitor fate during larval asymmetric divisions of the seam cells

2013

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SUMMARYThe C. elegans seam cells are lateral epithelial cells arrayed in a single line from anterior to posterior that divide in an asymmetric, stem cell-like manner during larval development. These asymmetric divisions are regulated by Wnt signaling; in most divisions, the posterior daughter in which the Wnt pathway is activated maintains the progenitor seam fate, while the anterior daughter in which the Wnt pathway is not activated adopts a differentiated hypodermal fate. Using mRNA tagging and microarray analysis, we identified the functionally redundant GATA factor genes egl-18 and elt-6 as Wnt pathway targets in the larval seam cells. EGL-18 and ELT-6 have previously been shown to be required for initial seam cell specification in the embryo. We show that in larval seam cell asymmetric divisions, EGL-18 is expressed strongly in the posterior seam-fated daughter. egl-18 and elt-6 are necessary for larval seam cell specification, and for hypodermal to seam cell fate transformations induced by ectopic Wnt pathway overactivation. The TCF homolog POP-1 binds a site in the egl-18 promoter in vitro, and this site is necessary for robust seam cell expression in vivo. Finally, larval overexpression of EGL-18 is sufficient to drive expression of a seam marker in other hypodermal cells in wild-type animals, and in anterior hypodermal-fated daughters in a Wnt pathway-sensitized background. These data suggest that two GATA factors that are required for seam cell specification in the embryo independently of Wnt signaling are reused downstream of Wnt signaling to maintain the progenitor fate during stem cell-like divisions in larval development. KEY WORDS: C. elegans, Wnt signaling, Asymmetric cell divisionC. elegans GATA factors EGL-18 and ELT-6 function downstream of Wnt signaling to maintain the progenitor fate during larval asymmetric divisions of the seam cells

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ELT-1, a GATA-like transcription factor, is required for epidermal cell fates in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos.

Cited by 105 publications

References 39 publications

Regulation of Metallothionein Gene Transcription

Regulation of Metallothionein Gene Transcription

The homeodomain protein PAL-1 specifies a lineage-specific regulatory network in theC. elegansembryo

C. elegansGATA factors EGL-18 and ELT-6 function downstream of Wnt signaling to maintain the progenitor fate during larval asymmetric divisions of the seam cells

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