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Characterization of a cis ‐acting element involved in cell‐specific expression of the zebrafish brain aromatase gene
Author(s) -
Le Page Yann,
Menuet Arnaud,
Kah Olivier,
Pakdel Farzad
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
molecular reproduction and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.745
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1098-2795
pISSN - 1040-452X
DOI - 10.1002/mrd.20892
Subject(s) - aromatase , biology , zebrafish , forebrain , microbiology and biotechnology , estrogen , gene , gene expression , gene isoform , genetics , endocrinology , central nervous system , cancer , breast cancer
Abstract The cytochrome P450 Aromatase is the key enzyme catalyzing the conversion of androgens into estrogens. In zebrafish, the brain aromatase is encoded by cyp19b . Expression of cyp19b is restricted to radial glial cells bordering forebrain ventricles and is strongly stimulated by estrogens during development. At the promoter level, we have previously shown that an estrogen responsive element (ERE) is required for induction by estrogens. Here, we investigated the role of ERE flanking regions in the control of cell‐specific expression. First, we show that a 20 bp length motif, named G×RE (glial × responsive element), acts in synergy with the ERE to mediate the estrogenic induction specifically in glial cells. Second, we demonstrate that, in vitro, this sequence binds factors exclusively present in glial or neuro‐glial cells and is able to confer a glial specificity to an artificial estrogen‐dependent gene. Taken together, these results contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms allowing cyp19b regulation by estrogens and allowed to identify a promoter sequence involved in the strong estrogen inducibility of cyp19b which is specific for glial cells. The exceptional aromatase activity measured in the brain of teleost fish could rely on such mechanisms. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 75: 1549–1557 © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.