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Molecular and Cellular Biology, October 2003, p. 7243-7255, Vol. 23, No. 20
0270-7306/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.23.20.7243-7255.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Prox1 Is a Novel Coregulator of Ff1b and Is Involved in the Embryonic Development of the Zebra Fish Interrenal Primordium

Yi-Wen Liu, Wei Gao, Hui-Ling Teh, Jee-Hian Tan, and Woon-Khiong Chan*

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Republic of Singapore

Received 16 December 2002/ Returned for modification 28 May 2003/ Accepted 17 June 2003

Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) plays an essential role in adrenal development, although the exact molecular mechanisms are unclear. Our previous work established that Ff1b is the zebra fish homologue of SF-1 and that its disruption by antisense morpholinos leads to a complete ablation of the interrenal organ. In this study, results of biochemical analyses suggest that Ff1b and other Ff1 members interact with Prox1, a homeodomain protein. Fine mapping using site-directed mutants showed that this interaction requires an intact Ff1b heptad 9 and AF2, as well as Prox1 NR Box I. In vivo, this physical interaction led to the inhibition of Ff1-mediated transactivation of pLuc3XFRE, indicating that Prox1 acts to repress the transcriptional activity of Ff1b. In situ hybridization demonstrates that prox1 colocalizes with ff1a and ff1b in the liver and interrenal primordia, respectively. Embryos microinjected with prox1 morpholino displayed a consistent partial reduction of 3ß-Hsd activity in the interrenal organ, while ff1b morpholino led to a disappearance of prox1. Based on these results, we propose that during the course of interrenal organogenesis, Prox1 functions as a tissue-specific coregulator of Ff1b and that the subsequent inhibition of Ff1b activity, after its initial roles in the specification of interrenal primordium, is critical for the maturation of the interrenal organ.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences, 14 Science Dr. 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore. Phone: (65)6874-8096. Fax: (65)6779-2486. E-mail: dbscwk{at}nus.edu.sg.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, October 2003, p. 7243-7255, Vol. 23, No. 20
0022-538X/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.23.20.7243-7255.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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