Supplementary Materials Supplemental Data supp_28_7_2093__index. of renal illnesses. A web link is certainly backed by These results between apical polarity protein and renal illnesses, renal cyst diseases especially. Further investigation from the Pals1-connected networks must decipher the systems root the pathogenesis of the diseases. NVP-BKM120 kinase inhibitor (membrane protein, palmitoylated 5) and its orthologs in NVP-BKM120 kinase inhibitor and zebrafish are referred to as Stardust (Sdt) in and Nagie Oko (Nok).8,9 Pals1 is the only apical polarity protein that interacts with all other components of the CRB complex.7,10,11 Moreover, Pals1 is also able to mediate binding between CRB and PAR complexes, because it interacts directly with the PAR component Par6.12 Knockdown studies in cell culture also revealed an essential role of Pals1 in the formation of tight and adherens junctions, indicating that cell junction assembly is closely linked to cell polarization in epithelial cells.13,14 More recent studies suggest that the CRB complex acts upstream of the Hippo signaling pathway, which controls tissue growth and organ size.15C18 Key proteins involved in the response to Hippo signaling are the transcriptional coactivators Yap (Yes-associated protein) and Taz (transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif, gene: function of Pals1 in the entire nephron. Because Six2-positive cap-mesenchymal cells are precursors of all nephron epithelia, including podocytes as well as cells of the proximal and distal tubuli, we took advantage of a Cre-driver mouse line which expresses an EGFP-Cre fusion protein under the control of the Six2 promoter.2 Crosses between the Six2-Cre driver strain and homozygous conditional Pals1 knockout mice (Pals1fl/fl)21 resulted in heterozygous progeny (Pals1wt/fl), of which 50% were Cre-positive (Six2-Cre+) and 50% Cre-negative (Six2-Cre?) (Figure 1B). When we compared 4-week-old Six2-Cre+ mice with their Cre-negative littermate controls, we discovered that the Six2-Cre+ mice, lacking only one of the two Pals1 alleles in the nephron, were significantly smaller in size and weight (Figure 1, C and D) and died within the first 45 days (Figure Mouse monoclonal to CMyc Tag.c Myc tag antibody is part of the Tag series of antibodies, the best quality in the research. The immunogen of c Myc tag antibody is a synthetic peptide corresponding to residues 410 419 of the human p62 c myc protein conjugated to KLH. C Myc tag antibody is suitable for detecting the expression level of c Myc or its fusion proteins where the c Myc tag is terminal or internal 1E). Open in a separate window Figure 1. Pals1 expression is important for the mammalian NVP-BKM120 kinase inhibitor kidney. (A) Immunohistochemical analysis of human kidney sections revealed NVP-BKM120 kinase inhibitor high levels of expression of Pals1 (red) in both tubular and glomerular regions of the organ. Left: Overview of Pals1 staining in a control biopsy specimen from a tumor-free human kidney. Scale bar, 200 in the collecting duct (Figure 3D, Supplemental Figure 4, BCD). Pals1 Reduction Leads to an Elevated Expression of Hippo Signaling Target Genes and Nuclear Accumulation of Taz and Yap in Cyst-Lining Cells Mice lacking Taz develop a cystic-kidneyClike phenotype,22C24 whereas Yap knockout mice die as embryos.25 In Pals1-deficient kidneys, levels of Yap and Taz were strongly reduced (Figure 4A). Real-time PCR analyses showed a significant increase in the expression of Hippo signaling target genes (members of the Amot and Lats families) and expression of apical polarity genes (with the exception of Pals1) remained unchanged (Supplemental Figure 5). Cryo-immunofluorescence staining using antibodies with high preference against Yap or Taz (see also Supplemental Figure 6) showed a predominant nuclear distribution of Yap and Taz in cyst-lining cells (Figure 4, C and D). Open in a separate window Figure 4. Reduced Pals1 expression results in altered Hippo signaling. (A) Western blot analysis revealed that Pals1, Taz, and Yap, but not actin (loading control), are downregulated in Pals1-depleted (Six2-Cre+) mice (in Six2-Cre+ mice (data are shown as meanSD of at least three independent experiments). (CCD) Colocalization of Yap or Taz with the DNA-specific dye DAPI confirmed the nuclear accumulation of Yap and Taz in Six2-Cre+ cyst-lining cells. Asterisks mark cysts and arrows cyst-lining cells. All data shown in (ACD) were obtained from 4-week-old mice. Stardust Knockdown Causes Dysfunctional Nephrocytes in Drosophila Drosophila nephrocytes control the filtration of the hemolymph by means of a podocyte-like slit-diaphragm26,27 and show high reabsorption and endocytotic activity,28 thus exhibiting remarkable functional similarities with mammalian nephrons. Indeed, selective RNAi knockdown of Stardust/Sdt (by Sdt RNAi 111/+ or Sdt RNAi 69/+), the ortholog of Pals1, reduced the uptake efficiency of nephrocytes (Figure 5A) and was accompanied by the appearance of malformed slit-diaphragmClike structures NVP-BKM120 kinase inhibitor (Figure 5, B and C and details). These uptake defects were rescued by simultaneous downregulation of Yorkie (Yki.