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The guanine nucleotide exchange factor Net1 facilitates the specification of dorsal cell fates in zebrafish embryos by promoting maternal ?-catenin activation.

ABSTRACT: Wnt/?-catenin signaling is essential for the initiation of dorsal-ventral patterning during vertebrate embryogenesis. Maternal ?-catenin accumulates in dorsal marginal nuclei during cleavage stages, but its critical target genes essential for dorsalization are silent until mid-blastula transition (MBT). Here, we find that zebrafish net1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, is specifically expressed in dorsal marginal blastomeres after MBT, and acts as a zygotic factor to promote the specification of dorsal cell fates. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments show that the GEF activity of Net1 is required for the activation of Wnt/?-catenin signaling in zebrafish embryos and mammalian cells. Net1 dissociates and activates PAK1 dimers, and PAK1 kinase activation causes phosphorylation of S675 of ?-catenin after MBT, which ultimately leads to the transcription of downstream target genes. In summary, our results reveal that Net1-regulated ?-catenin activation plays a crucial role in the dorsal axis formation during zebrafish development.

SUBMITTER: Wei S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5339846 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The guanine nucleotide exchange factor Net1 facilitates the specification of dorsal cell fates in zebrafish embryos by promoting maternal β-catenin activation.

Wei Shi S Dai Miaomiao M Liu Zhaoting Z Ma Yuanqing Y Shang Hanqiao H Cao Yu Y Wang Qiang Q

Cell research 20161202 2

Wnt/β-catenin signaling is essential for the initiation of dorsal-ventral patterning during vertebrate embryogenesis. Maternal β-catenin accumulates in dorsal marginal nuclei during cleavage stages, but its critical target genes essential for dorsalization are silent until mid-blastula transition (MBT). Here, we find that zebrafish net1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor, is specifically expressed in dorsal marginal blastomeres after MBT, and acts as a zygotic factor to promote the specificat ...[more]

PMID: 27910850

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Project description:BACKGROUND:The RhoA activating protein Net1 contributes to breast cancer cell proliferation, motility, and invasion in vitro, yet little is known about its roles in mammary gland tumorigenesis and metastasis. METHODS:Net1 knockout (KO) mice were bred to mice with mammary gland specific expression of the polyoma middle T antigen (PyMT) oncogene. Mammary gland tumorigenesis and lung metastasis were monitored. Individual tumors were assessed for proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, RhoA activation, and activation of PyMT-dependent signaling pathways. Primary tumor cells from wild-type and Net1 KO mice were transplanted into the mammary glands of wild-type, nontumor-bearing mice, and tumor growth and metastasis were assessed. Gene expression in wild-type and Net1 KO tumors was analyzed by gene ontology enrichment and for relative activation of gene expression signatures indicative of signaling pathways important for breast cancer initiation and progression. A gene expression signature indicative of Net1 function was identified. Human breast cancer gene expression profiles were screened for the presence of a Net1 gene expression signature. RESULTS:We show that Net1 makes fundamental contributions to mammary gland tumorigenesis and metastasis. Net1 deletion delays tumorigenesis and strongly suppresses metastasis in PyMT-expressing mice. Moreover, we observe that loss of Net1 reduces cancer cell proliferation, inhibits tumor angiogenesis, and promotes tumor cell apoptosis. Net1 is required for maximal RhoA activation within tumors and for primary tumor cell motility. Furthermore, the ability of PyMT to initiate oncogenic signaling to ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt1 is inhibited by Net1 deletion. Primary tumor cell transplantation indicates that the reduction in tumor angiogenesis and lung metastasis observed upon Net1 deletion are tumor cell autonomous effects. Using a gene expression signature indicative of Net1 activity, we show that Net1 signaling is activated in 10% of human breast cancers, and that this correlates with elevated proliferation and PI3K pathway activity. We also demonstrate that human breast cancer patients with a high Net1 gene expression signature experience shorter distant metastasis-free survival. CONCLUSIONS:These data indicate that Net1 is required for tumor progression in the PyMT mouse model and suggest that Net1 may contribute to breast cancer progression in humans.

Dataset Information

The guanine nucleotide exchange factor Net1 facilitates the specification of dorsal cell fates in zebrafish embryos by promoting maternal ?-catenin activation.

Publications

The guanine nucleotide exchange factor Net1 facilitates the specification of dorsal cell fates in zebrafish embryos by promoting maternal β-catenin activation.

Similar Datasets

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