RESUMEN
Differential RNA metabolism regulates a wide array of developmental processes. Here, we describe a mechanism that controls the transition from premature Drosophila tendon precursors into mature muscle-bound tendon cells. This mechanism is based on the opposing activities of two isoforms of the RNA binding protein How. While the isoform How(L) is a negative regulator of Stripe, the key modulator of tendon cell differentiation, How(S) isoform elevates Stripe levels, thereby releasing the differentiation arrest induced by How(L). The opposing activities of the How isoforms are manifested by differential rates of mRNA degradation of the target stripe mRNA. This mechanism is conserved, as the mammalian RNA binding Quaking proteins may similarly affect the levels of Krox20, a regulator of Schwann cell maturation.
Asunto(s)
Diferenciación Celular , Drosophila/citología , Drosophila/embriología , Proteínas Nucleares , Proteínas de Unión al ARN/metabolismo , Tendones/citología , Tendones/embriología , Regiones no Traducidas 3'/genética , Regiones no Traducidas 3'/metabolismo , Empalme Alternativo/genética , Animales , Western Blotting , Línea Celular , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/biosíntesis , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/genética , Drosophila/metabolismo , Proteínas de Drosophila/química , Proteínas de Drosophila/genética , Proteínas de Drosophila/metabolismo , Proteína 2 de la Respuesta de Crecimiento Precoz , Genes Reporteros/genética , Señales de Localización Nuclear , Isoformas de Proteínas/química , Isoformas de Proteínas/genética , Isoformas de Proteínas/metabolismo , Estabilidad del ARN , Proteínas de Unión al ARN/química , Proteínas de Unión al ARN/genética , Proteínas Represoras/química , Proteínas Represoras/genética , Proteínas Represoras/metabolismo , Tendones/metabolismo , Factores de Transcripción/biosíntesis , Factores de Transcripción/genéticaRESUMEN
In Drosophila, a tendon cell is selected from a group of equipotent precursors following its interaction with a muscle cell. This interaction results in elevated levels of the transcription factor Stripe in the future tendon cells. Here we show that the balance between two distinct forms of the RNA-binding protein How maintains low levels of Stripe at the precursor stage and high levels in the mature tendon. The long, nuclear-specific protein How(L) downregulates Stripe protein levels at the precursor stage by binding stripe mRNA and inhibiting its nuclear export. This inhibition is likely to be counteracted by the short How(S) protein, present in both nucleus and cytoplasm, which is upregulated in the muscle-bound tendon cell following EGF receptor activation.