Open AccessMouse naked cuticle 2 (mNkd2) as a direct transcriptional target of Hoxc8 in vivo
Author(s) -
Lei Haiyan,
Juan Aster H.,
Kim MooSang,
Ruddle Frank H.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of experimental zoology part a: ecological genetics and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1932-5231
pISSN - 1932-5223
DOI - 10.1002/jez.a.327
Subject(s) - biology , chromatin immunoprecipitation , transcription factor , microbiology and biotechnology , electrophoretic mobility shift assay , reporter gene , immunoprecipitation , gene , gene expression , promoter , genetics
Mouse naked cuticle 2 ( mNkd2 ), the mammalian homolog of the Drosophila segment polarity gene naked cuticle (nkd), encodes an EF hand protein that regulates early Wg activity by acting as an inducible antagonist. The transcription factor, Hoxc8 , a member of the homeobox gene family, is vital for growth and differentiation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), and a reporter assay demonstrated that endogenous Hoxc8 protein binds directly to the enhancer region of the mNkd2 gene, implying a Hoxc8‐dependent transcriptional activity. Introduction of exogenous Hoxc8 into NIH3T3 cell lines lacking wild‐type Hoxc8 dramatically reduced expression of mNkd2 mRNA. If, as the results suggest, mNkd2 is a direct target of Hoxc8 , it represents a novel mechanism by which Hoxc8 might cross‐talk with the Wnt signaling pathway by regulating mNkd2 . J. Exp. Zool. 305A:1–6, 2007 . © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.