Yang Yong, Sun Yinyan, Luo Xin, Zhang Yuxia, Chen Yaoyao, Tian E, Lints Robyn, Zhang Hong
National Institute of Biological Sciences, Zhongguancun Life Science Park, No. 7 Science Park Road, Beijing 102206, People's Republic of China.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jan 16;104(3):852-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0610261104. Epub 2007 Jan 10.
The molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of neurons with defined neurotransmitters are not well understood. In this study, we demonstrate that the PcG-like genes in Caenorhabditis elegans, sop-2 and sor-3, regulate the formation of dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons and several other neuronal properties. sor-3 encodes a novel protein containing an MBT repeat, a domain that contains histone-binding activity and is present in PcG proteins SCM and Sfmbt in other organisms. We further show that mutations in sor-3 lead to ectopic expression of Hox genes and cause homeotic transformations. Specification of certain neuronal identities by these PcG-like genes appears to involve regulation of non-Hox gene targets. Our studies revealed that the PcG-like genes are crucial for coordinately regulating the expression of discrete aspects of neuronal identities in C. elegans.
具有特定神经递质的神经元形成背后的分子机制尚未完全了解。在本研究中，我们证明了秀丽隐杆线虫中的类多梳基因sop-2和sor-3调节多巴胺能和5-羟色胺能神经元的形成以及其他几种神经元特性。sor-3编码一种含有MBT重复序列的新型蛋白质，该结构域具有组蛋白结合活性，并且存在于其他生物体的多梳蛋白SCM和Sfmbt中。我们进一步表明，sor-3中的突变导致Hox基因的异位表达并引起同源异型转化。这些类多梳基因对某些神经元身份的特异性指定似乎涉及对非Hox基因靶标的调控。我们的研究表明，类多梳基因对于协调调节秀丽隐杆线虫中神经元身份离散方面的表达至关重要。
