First published online February 2, 2004
Development 131, 405e (2004)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Heads up for cell-fate determination
Aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AHRs) and their co-factor, aryl hydrocarbon
receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), are best known for their role in the
mammalian response to environmental toxins. On
p. 819, however, Huang
and colleagues report that ahr-1 and aha-1, the
Caenorhabditis elegans orthologues of AHR and ARNT,
specify GABAergic neuron cell fate in nematodes. GABAergic neurons use
-amino butyric acid as a neuronal transmitter and regulate movements
such as foraging behaviours. In C. elegans, the four GABAergic
neurons that innervate the head constitute two pairs - RMEL/RMER and RMED/RMEV
- classified according to cell lineage and gene expression. ahr-1 is
normally expressed in the RMEL/RMER neurons, but in a mutant worm lacking
functional AHR-1, the RMEL/RMER neurons become RMED/RMEV-like cells.
Conversely, ectopic expression of ahr-1 in RMED/RMEV cells converts
them into RMEL/RMER cells. These results demonstrate that ahr-1
functions as a cell-type specific determinant, a function that the researchers
show requires aha-1.
Related articles in Development:
- The AHR-1 aryl hydrocarbon receptor and its co-factor the AHA-1 aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator specify GABAergic neuron cell fate in C. elegans
- Xun Huang, Jo Anne Powell-Coffman, and Yishi Jin
Development 2004 131: 819-828.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
