The LEF1/β-Catenin Complex Activates movo1, A Mouse Homolog of Drosophila ovo Required for Epidermal Appendage Differentiation

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2002-04, Vol.99 (9), p.6064-6069
• Main Authors: Li, Baoan, Mackay, Douglas R., Dai, Qian, Tony W. H. Li, Nair, Mahalakshmi, Fallahi, Magid, Schonbaum, Christopher P., Fantes, Judith, Mahowald, Anthony P., Waterman, Marian L., Fuchs, Elaine, Dai, Xing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Antibodies; Appendages; b-catenin; Base Sequence; beta Catenin; Binding Sites; Biological Sciences; Cell Differentiation; Cell Nucleus - metabolism; Chromosomes - metabolism; Cloning, Molecular; Cytoskeletal Proteins - metabolism; Deoxyribonuclease I - metabolism; DNA, Complementary - metabolism; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; DNA-Binding Proteins - physiology; Epidermal Cells; Epidermis; Epidermis - embryology; Genes; Hair; Hair follicles; Immunoblotting; Immunohistochemistry; LEF1 protein; Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1; Mice; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Molecular Sequence Data; Morphogenesis; movo1 gene; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Protein Binding; Proteins; Recombinant Proteins - metabolism; Rodents; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Trans-Activators; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcription Factors - physiology; Transfection; wnt gene; Zinc
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.092137099

Drosophila ovo/svb (dovo) is required for epidermal cuticle/denticle differentiation and is genetically downstream of the wg signaling pathway. Similarly, a mouse homolog of dovo, movo1, is required for the proper formation of hair, a mammalian epidermal appendage. Here, we provide biochemical evidence that movo1 encodes a nuclear DNA binding protein (mOvo1a) that binds to DNA sequences similar to those that dOvo binds to, further supporting the notion that mOvo1a and dOvo are genetically and biochemically homologous proteins. Additionally, we show that the movo1 promoter is activated by the lymphoid enhancer factor 1 (LEF1)/β-catenin complex, a transducer of wnt signaling. Collectively, our findings suggest that movo1 is a developmental target of wnt signaling during hair morphogenesis in mice, and that the wg/wnt-ovo link in epidermal appendage regulatory pathways has been conserved between mice and flies.