Zebrafish her3 knockout impacts developmental and cancer-related gene signatures
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ABSTRACT: HES3 is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that regulates neural stem cell renewal during development. HES3 overexpression is predictive of reduced overall survival in patients with fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma, a pediatric cancer that resembles immature and undifferentiated skeletal muscle. However, the mechanisms of HES3 cooperation in fusion-positive rhabdomyosarcoma are unclear and are likely related to her3/HES3’s role in neurogenesis. To further investigate how HES3 functions during development, we generated a zebrafish CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of her3, the zebrafish ortholog of HES3. Zebrafish her3 mutants are not embryonic lethal and as adults exhibit expected Mendelian ratios. Embryonic her3 zebrafish mutants are significantly smaller than wildtype and present with lens defects as adults. Transcriptomic analysis of her3 mutant embryos indicates that genes involved in organ development, such as pctp and grinab, are significantly downregulated. Further, differentially expressed genes in her3 knockout embryos are enriched for HOX and sox10 motifs. Several cancer-related gene pathways are impacted, including the inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases. Altogether, this new model is a powerful system to study her3/HES3-mediated neural development and its misappropriation in cancer contexts.
ORGANISM(S): Danio rerio
PROVIDER: GSE196814 | GEO | 2023/01/16
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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