Identification and Characterization of a Putative Basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) Transcription Factor Interacting with Calcineurin in C. elegans

• Published in: Molecules and cells Vol. 28; no. 5; pp. 455 - 462
• Main Authors: Lee, Soo-Ung, Song, Hyun-Ok, Lee, Wonhae, Singaravelu, Gunasekaran, Yu, Jae-Ran, Park, Woo-Yoon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Elsevier Inc 01.11.2009; Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology; 한국분자세포생물학회
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Arabidopsis Proteins - chemistry; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; basic helix-loop-helix; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - chemistry; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - genetics; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors - metabolism; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Biotechnology; C. elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans - drug effects; Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - chemistry; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism; calcineurin; Calcineurin - metabolism; Cell Biology; egg laying; Gene Deletion; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; HLH-11; Humans; Life Sciences; Molecular Sequence Data; OVIPOSICION; OVIPOSITION; Ovulation - drug effects; PONTE; Protein Binding - drug effects; Protein Subunits - chemistry; Protein Subunits - genetics; Protein Subunits - metabolism; Sequence Alignment; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Serotonin - pharmacology; 생물학; basic helix-loop-helix; C. elegans; egg laying; HLH-11; calcineurin
• ISSN: 1016-8478; 0219-1032
• DOI: 10.1007/s10059-009-0145-5

Calcineurin is a Ca2+ZCalmodulin activated Ser/Thr phosphatase that is well conserved from yeast to human. It is composed of catalytic subunit A (CnA) and regulatory subunit B (CnB). C. elegans homolog of CnA and CnB has been annotated to tax-6 and cnb-1, respectively and in vivo function of both genes has been intensively studied. In C. elegans, calcineurin play roles in various signaling pathways such as fertility, movement, body size regulation and serotonin-mediated egg laying. In order to understand additional signaling pathway(s) in which calcineurin functions, we screened for binding proteins of TAX-6 and found a novel binding protein, HLH-11. The HLH-11, a member of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins, is a putative counterpart of human AP4 transcription factor. Previously bHLH transcription factors have been implicated to regulate many developmental processes such as cell proliferation and differentiation, sex determination and myogenesis. However, the in vivo function of hlh-11 is largely unknown. Here, we show that hlh-11 is expressed in pharynx, intestine, nerve cords, anal depressor and vuvla muscles where calcineurin is also expressed. Mutant analyses reveal that hlh-11 may have role(s) in regulating body size and reproduction. More interestingly, genetic epistasis suggests that hlh-11 may function to regulate serotonin-mediated egg laying at the downstream of tax-6.