Aruga J, Yokota N, Hashimoto M, Furuichi T, Fukuda M, Mikoshiba K
Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Tsukuba Life Science Center, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Ibaraki, Japan.
J Neurochem. 1994 Nov;63(5):1880-90. doi: 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1994.63051880.x.
To clarify the mechanism of cerebellar development, we have cloned a gene, named zic, encoding a zinc finger protein that is expressed abundantly in granule cells throughout development of the cerebellum. zic has a significant homology to the zinc finger domain of the Caenorhabditis elegans tra1 gene, the Drosophila cubitus interruptus Dominant gene, and the human GLI oncogene. An in situ hybridization study revealed that zic showed a restricted expression pattern in the granule cells and their putative precursor cells. It is also expressed at an early embryonic stage in the dorsal half of the neural tube. The expression pattern and nuclear localization were confirmed by immunohistochemical study. Furthermore, the bacterially expressed zic protein containing the zinc finger domains bound to the GLI-binding sequence. These findings suggest that zic is one of a number of nuclear factors involved in both differentiation in early development and maintenance of properties of the cerebellar granule cells.
为阐明小脑发育的机制，我们克隆了一个名为zic的基因，该基因编码一种锌指蛋白，在小脑整个发育过程中的颗粒细胞中大量表达。zic与秀丽隐杆线虫tra1基因、果蝇间断翅脉显性基因以及人类GLI癌基因的锌指结构域具有显著同源性。原位杂交研究表明，zic在颗粒细胞及其假定的前体细胞中呈现出受限的表达模式。它在神经管背侧的胚胎早期阶段也有表达。免疫组织化学研究证实了其表达模式和核定位。此外，细菌表达的含有锌指结构域的zic蛋白与GLI结合序列结合。这些发现表明，zic是参与早期发育分化和小脑颗粒细胞特性维持的众多核因子之一。
