MEP-1 and a Homolog of the NURD Complex Component Mi-2 Act Together to Maintain Germline-Soma Distinctions in C. elegans

A rapid cascade of regulatory events defines the developmental fates of embryonic cells. However, once established, these developmental fates and the underlying transcriptional programs can be remarkably stable. Here, we describe two proteins, MEP-1 and LET-418/Mi-2, required for maintenance of soma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell 2002-12, Vol.111 (7), p.991-1002
Main Authors: Unhavaithaya, Yingdee, Shin, Tae Ho, Miliaras, Nicholas, Lee, Jungsoon, Oyama, Tomoko, Mello, Craig C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adenosine Triphosphatases
Animals
Autoantigens - genetics
Autoantigens - metabolism
Caenorhabditis elegans - cytology
Caenorhabditis elegans - embryology
Caenorhabditis elegans - metabolism
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism
Cell Differentiation - physiology
Cell Lineage - physiology
DNA Helicases
Embryo, Nonmammalian - cytology
Embryo, Nonmammalian - embryology
Embryo, Nonmammalian - metabolism
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental - physiology
Germ Cells - cytology
Germ Cells - metabolism
Histone Deacetylases - genetics
Histone Deacetylases - metabolism
Mi-2 Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase Complex
Nuclear Proteins - genetics
Nuclear Proteins - metabolism
Transcription Factors - genetics
Transcription Factors - metabolism
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Summary:A rapid cascade of regulatory events defines the developmental fates of embryonic cells. However, once established, these developmental fates and the underlying transcriptional programs can be remarkably stable. Here, we describe two proteins, MEP-1 and LET-418/Mi-2, required for maintenance of somatic differentiation in C. elegans. In animals lacking MEP-1 and LET-418, germline-specific genes become derepressed in somatic cells, and Polycomb group (PcG) and SET domain-related proteins promote this ectopic expression. MEP-1 and LET-418 interact in vivo with the germline-protein PIE-1. Our findings support a model in which PIE-1 inhibits MEP-1 and associated factors to maintain the pluripotency of germ cells, while at later times MEP-1 and LET-418 remodel chromatin to establish new stage- or cell-type-specific differentiation potential.
ISSN:0092-8674
1097-4172
DOI:10.1016/S0092-8674(02)01202-3