Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 4 Ks. Trojdena Street, 02-109, Warsaw, Poland.
Brain Struct Funct. 2013 Nov;218(6):1531-49. doi: 10.1007/s00429-012-0474-6. Epub 2012 Nov 15.
β-Catenin signaling, leading to the activation of lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1/T cell factor (LEF1/TCF) transcription factors, plays a well-established role in transcription regulation during development and tissue homeostasis. In the adult organism, the activity of this pathway has been found in stem cell niches and postmitotic thalamic neurons. Recently, studies show that mutations in components of β-catenin signaling networks have been associated with several psychiatric disorders, indicating the involvement of β-catenin and LEF1/TCF proteins in the proper functioning of the brain. Here, we report a comprehensive analysis of LEF1/TCF protein localization and the expression profile of their isoforms in cortical, thalamic, and midbrain regions in mice. We detected LEF1 and TCF7L2 proteins in neurons of the thalamus and dorsal midbrain, i.e., subcortical regions specialized in the integration of diverse sources of sensory information. These neurons also exhibited nuclear localization of β-catenin, suggesting the involvement of β-catenin/LEF1/TCF7L2 in the regulation of gene expression in these regions. Analysis of alternative splicing and promoter usage identified brain-specific TCF7L2 isoforms and revealed a developmentally coordinated transition in the composition of LEF1 and TCF7L2 isoforms. In the case of TCF7L2, the typical brain isoforms lack the so-called C clamp; in addition, the dominant-negative isoforms are predominant in the embryonic thalamus but disappear postnatally. The present study provides a necessary framework to understand the role of LEF1/TCF factors in thalamic and midbrain development until adulthood and predicts that the regulatory role of these proteins in the adult brain is significantly different from their role in the embryonic brain or other non-neural tissues.
β-连环蛋白信号通路可导致淋巴增强结合因子 1/转录因子(LEF1/TCF)转录因子的激活,在发育和组织稳态过程中的转录调控中发挥着重要作用。在成年生物体内,该通路的活性已在干细胞龛和有丝分裂后丘脑神经元中被发现。最近的研究表明,β-连环蛋白信号网络的成分发生突变与几种精神疾病有关,这表明β-连环蛋白和 LEF1/TCF 蛋白参与了大脑的正常功能。在这里,我们报告了在小鼠皮质、丘脑和中脑区域对 LEF1/TCF 蛋白定位和其同工型表达谱的全面分析。我们在丘脑和背侧中脑的神经元中检测到 LEF1 和 TCF7L2 蛋白,即专门用于整合各种来源的感觉信息的皮质下区域。这些神经元还表现出β-连环蛋白的核定位,表明β-连环蛋白/LEF1/TCF7L2 参与了这些区域的基因表达调控。对选择性剪接和启动子使用的分析确定了大脑特异性的 TCF7L2 同工型,并揭示了 LEF1 和 TCF7L2 同工型组成的发育协调转变。就 TCF7L2 而言,典型的脑同工型缺乏所谓的 C 夹;此外,在胚胎丘脑内,显性负性同工型占主导地位,但在出生后消失。本研究为理解 LEF1/TCF 因子在丘脑和中脑发育直至成年期的作用提供了必要的框架,并预测这些蛋白质在成年大脑中的调节作用与它们在胚胎大脑或其他非神经组织中的作用有显著不同。