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Dubé KN, Smart N. Thymosin β4 and the vasculature: multiple roles in development, repair and protection against disease. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2018; 18:131-139. [DOI: 10.1080/14712598.2018.1459558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Karina N. Dubé
- BHF Centre of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Nicola Smart
- BHF Centre of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Eley L, Alqahtani AM, MacGrogan D, Richardson RV, Murphy L, Salguero-Jimenez A, Sintes Rodriguez San Pedro M, Tiurma S, McCutcheon L, Gilmore A, de La Pompa JL, Chaudhry B, Henderson DJ. A novel source of arterial valve cells linked to bicuspid aortic valve without raphe in mice. eLife 2018; 7:34110. [PMID: 29956664 PMCID: PMC6025960 DOI: 10.7554/elife.34110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 06/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Abnormalities of the arterial valve leaflets, predominantly bicuspid aortic valve, are the commonest congenital malformations. Although many studies have investigated the development of the arterial valves, it has been assumed that, as with the atrioventricular valves, endocardial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) is the predominant mechanism. We show that arterial is distinctly different from atrioventricular valve formation. Whilst the four septal valve leaflets are dominated by NCC and EndMT-derived cells, the intercalated leaflets differentiate directly from Tnnt2-Cre+/Isl1+ progenitors in the outflow wall, via a Notch-Jag dependent mechanism. Further, when this novel group of progenitors are disrupted, development of the intercalated leaflets is disrupted, resulting in leaflet dysplasia and bicuspid valves without raphe, most commonly affecting the aortic valve. This study thus overturns the dogma that heart valves are formed principally by EndMT, identifies a new source of valve interstitial cells, and provides a novel mechanism for causation of bicuspid aortic valves without raphe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorriane Eley
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Ahlam Ms Alqahtani
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Donal MacGrogan
- Intercellular Signalling in Cardiovascular Development and Disease Laboratory, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Rachel V Richardson
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Lindsay Murphy
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Alejandro Salguero-Jimenez
- Intercellular Signalling in Cardiovascular Development and Disease Laboratory, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Shindi Tiurma
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Lauren McCutcheon
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Adam Gilmore
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - José Luis de La Pompa
- Intercellular Signalling in Cardiovascular Development and Disease Laboratory, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Bill Chaudhry
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Deborah J Henderson
- Institute of Genetic Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
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Sribenja S, Wongkham S, Wongkham C, Yao Q, Chen C. Roles and Mechanisms of β-Thymosins in Cell Migration and Cancer Metastasis: An Update. Cancer Invest 2013; 31:103-10. [DOI: 10.3109/07357907.2012.756111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Banerjee I, Zhang J, Moore-Morris T, Lange S, Shen T, Dalton ND, Gu Y, Peterson KL, Evans SM, Chen J. Thymosin beta 4 is dispensable for murine cardiac development and function. Circ Res 2011; 110:456-64. [PMID: 22158707 DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.111.258616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4) is a 43-amino acid factor encoded by an X-linked gene. Recent studies have suggested that Tβ4 is a key factor in cardiac development, growth, disease, epicardial integrity, and blood vessel formation. Cardiac-specific short hairpin (sh)RNA knockdown of tβ4 has been reported to result in embryonic lethality at E14.5-16.5, with severe cardiac and angiogenic defects. However, this shRNA tβ4-knockdown model did not completely abrogate Tβ4 expression. To completely ablate Tβ4 and to rule out the possibility of off-target effects associated with shRNA gene silencing, further studies of global or cardiac-specific knockouts are critical. OBJECTIVE We examined the role of Tβ4 in developing and adult heart through global and cardiac specific tβ4-knockout mouse models. METHODS AND RESULTS Global tβ4-knockout mice were born at mendelian ratios and exhibited normal heart and blood vessel formation. Furthermore, in adult global tβ4-knockout mice, cardiac function, capillary density, expression of key cardiac fetal and angiogenic genes, epicardial marker expression, and extracellular matrix deposition were indistinguishable from that of controls. Tissue-specific tβ4-deficient mice, generated by crossing tβ4-floxed mice to Nkx2.5-Cre and αMHC-Cre, were also found to have no phenotype. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that Tβ4 is dispensable for embryonic viability, heart development, coronary vessel development, and adult myocardial function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indroneal Banerjee
- Department of Medicine, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, 92093, USA
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Identification of Thymosin β4 as an effector of Hand1-mediated vascular development. Nat Commun 2010; 1:46. [PMID: 20975697 PMCID: PMC2963826 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2009] [Accepted: 06/29/2010] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The bHLH transcription factor Hand1 (Heart and neural crest-derived transcript-1) has a fundamental role in cardiovascular development; however, the molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated. In this paper we identify Thymosin β4 (Tβ4/Tmsb4x), which encodes an actin monomer-binding protein implicated in cell migration and angiogenesis, as a direct target of Hand1. We demonstrate that Hand1 binds an upstream regulatory region proximal to the promoter of Tβ4 at consensus Thing1 and E-Box sites and identify both activation and repression of Tβ4 by Hand1, through direct binding within either non-canonical or canonical E-boxes, providing new insight into gene regulation by bHLH transcription factors. Hand1-mediated activation of Tβ4 is essential for yolk sac vasculogenesis and embryonic survival, and administration of synthetic TB4 partially rescues yolk sac capillary plexus formation in Hand1-null embryos. Thus, we identify an in vivo downstream target of Hand1 and reveal impaired yolk sac vasculogenesis as a primary cause of early embryonic lethality following loss of this critical bHLH factor. The Hand1 transcription factor plays a central role in cardiovascular development. Here the authors demonstrate that Hand1 regulates thymosin β4 and that the delivery of synthetic thymosin β4 can rescue some of the vascular defects in Hand1 null mouse embryos.
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Nemolato S, Cabras T, Cau F, Fanari MU, Fanni D, Manconi B, Messana I, Castagnola M, Faa G. Different thymosin Beta 4 immunoreactivity in foetal and adult gastrointestinal tract. PLoS One 2010; 5:e9111. [PMID: 20161756 PMCID: PMC2817748 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2009] [Accepted: 01/12/2010] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4) is a member of beta-thymosins, a family of peptides that play essential roles in many cellular functions. A recent study from our group suggested a role for Tβ4 in the development of human salivary glands. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of Tβ4 in the human gut during development, and in the adult. Methodology/Principal Findings Immunolocalization of Tβ4 was studied in autoptic samples of tongue, oesophagus, stomach, ileum, colon, liver and pancreas obtained from two human foetuses and two adults. Tβ4 appeared unevenly distributed, with marked differences between foetuses and adults. In the stomach, superficial epithelium was positive in foetuses and negative in adults. Ileal enterocytes were strongly positive in the adult and weakly positive in the foetuses. An increase in reactivity for Tβ4 was observed in superficial colon epithelium of adults as compared with the foetuses. Striking differences were found between foetal and adult liver: the former showed a very low reactivity for Tβ4 while in the adult we observed a strong reactivity in the vast majority of the hepatocytes. A peculiar pattern was found in the pancreas, with the strongest reactivity observed in foetal and adult islet cells. Significance Our data show a strong expression of Tβ4 in the human gut and in endocrine pancreas during development. The observed differential expression of Tβ4 suggests specific roles of the peptide in the gut of foetuses and adults. The observed heterogeneity of Tβ4 expression in the foetal life, ranging from a very rare detection in liver cells up to a diffuse reactivity in endocrine pancreas, should be taken into account when the role of Tβ4 in the development of human embryo is assessed. Future studies are needed to shed light on the link between Tβ4 and organogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Nemolato
- Divisione di Anatomia Patologica, Dipartimento di Citomorfologia, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Tiziana Cabras
- Dipartimento di Scienze Applicate ai Biosistemi, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Flaviana Cau
- Divisione di Anatomia Patologica, Dipartimento di Citomorfologia, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Mattia Umberto Fanari
- Divisione di Anatomia Patologica, Dipartimento di Citomorfologia, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Daniela Fanni
- Divisione di Anatomia Patologica, Dipartimento di Citomorfologia, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Barbara Manconi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Applicate ai Biosistemi, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Irene Messana
- Dipartimento di Scienze Applicate ai Biosistemi, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Massimo Castagnola
- Istituto di Biochimica e di Biochimica Clinica, Università Cattolica and/or Istituto per la Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Istituto Scientifico, Internazionale (ISI) Paolo VI, Roma, Italy
| | - Gavino Faa
- Divisione di Anatomia Patologica, Dipartimento di Citomorfologia, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
- * E-mail:
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BARNES RALSTONM, FIRULLI ANTHONYB. A twist of insight - the role of Twist-family bHLH factors in development. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2009; 53:909-24. [PMID: 19378251 PMCID: PMC2737731 DOI: 10.1387/ijdb.082747rb] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Members of the Twist-family of bHLH proteins play a pivotal role in a number of essential developmental programs. Twist-family bHLH proteins function by dimerizing with other bHLH members and binding to cis- regulatory elements, called E-boxes. While Twist-family members may simply exhibit a preference in terms of high-affinity binding partners, a complex, multilevel cascade of regulation creates a dynamic role for these bHLH proteins. We summarize in this review information on each Twist-family member concerning expression pattern, function, regulation, downstream targets, and interactions with other bHLH proteins. Additionally, we focus on the phospho-regulatory mechanisms that tightly control posttranslational modification of Twist-family member bHLH proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- RALSTON M. BARNES
- Riley Heart Research Center, Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Departments of Anatomy and Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana Medical School, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - ANTHONY B. FIRULLI
- Riley Heart Research Center, Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Departments of Anatomy and Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana Medical School, Indianapolis, IN, USA
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Smart N, Rossdeutsch A, Riley PR. Thymosin beta4 and angiogenesis: modes of action and therapeutic potential. Angiogenesis 2007; 10:229-41. [PMID: 17632766 DOI: 10.1007/s10456-007-9077-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2007] [Accepted: 06/12/2007] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Here we review the mechanisms by which Thymosin beta4 (Tbeta4) regulates angiogenesis, its role in processes, such as wound healing and tumour progression and we discuss in more detail the role of Tbeta4 in the cardiovascular system and significant recent findings implicating Tbeta4 as a potential therapeutic agent for ischaemic heart disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Smart
- Molecular Medicine Unit, UCL-Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
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Smart N, Risebro CA, Melville AAD, Moses K, Schwartz RJ, Chien KR, Riley PR. Thymosin beta-4 is essential for coronary vessel development and promotes neovascularization via adult epicardium. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2007; 1112:171-88. [PMID: 17495252 DOI: 10.1196/annals.1415.000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Ischemic heart disease leading to myocardial infarction causes irreversible cell loss and scarring and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. Significant effort in the field of cardiovascular medicine has been invested in the search for adult cardiac progenitor cells that may replace damaged muscle cells and/or contribute to new vessel formation (neovascularization) and in the identification of key factors, which may induce such progenitor cells to contribute to myocardial repair and collateral vessel growth. We recently demonstrated that the actin monomer-binding protein, thymosin beta-4 (Tbeta-4), when secreted from the myocardium provides a paracrine stimulus to the cells of the epicardium-derived cells (EPDCs) to promote their inward migration and differentiation into endothelial and smooth muscle cells to form the coronary vasculature. Translating this essential role for Tbeta-4 in coronary vessel development to the adult, we found that treatment of cultured adult explants with Tbeta-4 stimulated extensive outgrowth of epicardin-positive epicardial cells, which, as they migrated away from the explant, differentiated into procollagen type I, SMalphaA, and Flk1-positive cells indicative of fibroblasts, smooth muscle, and endothelial cells; thus releasing the adult epicardium from a quiescent state and restoring pluripotency. The ability of Tbeta-4 to promote coronary vessel development and potentially induce new vasculature in the adult is essential for cardiomyocyte survival and could contribute significantly toward the reported Tbeta4-induced cardioprotection and repair in the adult heart. Tbeta-4 is currently subject to multicenter phase 1 clinical trials for treatment of cardiovascular disease (http://www.regenerx.com), therefore, insight into the repair mechanism(s) induced by Tbeta-4 is an essential step toward harnessing therapeutic survival, migration, and repair properties of the peptide in the context of acute myocardial damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Smart
- Molecular Medicine Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, WC1N 1EH, UK
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Smart N, Risebro CA, Melville AAD, Moses K, Schwartz RJ, Chien KR, Riley PR. Thymosin beta4 induces adult epicardial progenitor mobilization and neovascularization. Nature 2006; 445:177-82. [PMID: 17108969 DOI: 10.1038/nature05383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 492] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2006] [Accepted: 10/25/2006] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Cardiac failure has a principal underlying aetiology of ischaemic damage arising from vascular insufficiency. Molecules that regulate collateral growth in the ischaemic heart also regulate coronary vasculature formation during embryogenesis. Here we identify thymosin beta4 (Tbeta4) as essential for all aspects of coronary vessel development in mice, and demonstrate that Tbeta4 stimulates significant outgrowth from quiescent adult epicardial explants, restoring pluripotency and triggering differentiation of fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells. Tbeta4 knockdown in the heart is accompanied by significant reduction in the pro-angiogenic cleavage product N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline (AcSDKP). Although injection of AcSDKP was unable to rescue Tbeta4 mutant hearts, it significantly enhanced endothelial cell differentiation from adult epicardially derived precursor cells. This study identifies Tbeta4 and AcSDKP as potent stimulators of coronary vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, and reveals Tbeta4-induced adult epicardial cells as a viable source of vascular progenitors for continued renewal of regressed vessels at low basal level or sustained neovascularization following cardiac injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Smart
- Molecular Medicine Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK
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Risebro CA, Smart N, Dupays L, Breckenridge R, Mohun TJ, Riley PR. Hand1 regulates cardiomyocyte proliferation versus differentiation in the developing heart. Development 2006; 133:4595-606. [PMID: 17050624 DOI: 10.1242/dev.02625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The precise origins of myocardial progenitors and their subsequent contribution to the developing heart has been an area of considerable activity within the field of cardiovascular biology. How these progenitors are regulated and what signals are responsible for their development are, however, much less well understood. Clearly, not only is there a need to identify factors that regulate the transition from proliferation of cardioblasts to differentiation of cardiac muscle, but it is also necessary to identify factors that maintain an adequate pool of undifferentiated myocyte precursors as a prerequisite to preventing organ hypoplasia and congenital heart disease. Here, we report how upregulation of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor Hand1, restricted exclusively to Hand1-expressing cells, brings about a significant extension of the heart tube and extraneous looping caused by the elevated proliferation of cardioblasts in the distal outflow tract. This activity is independent of the further recruitment of extracardiac cells from the secondary heart field and permissive for the continued differentiation of adjacent myocardium. Culture studies using embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived cardiomyocytes revealed that, in a Hand1-null background, there is significantly elevated cardiomyocyte differentiation, with an apparent default mesoderm pathway to a cardiomyocyte fate. However, Hand1 gain of function maintains proliferating precursors resulting in delayed and significantly reduced cardiomyocyte differentiation that is mediated by the prevention of cell-cycle exit, by G1 progression and by increased cell division. Thus, this work identifies Hand1 as a crucial cardiac regulatory protein that controls the balance between proliferation and differentiation in the developing heart, and fills a significant gap in our understanding of how the myocardium of the embryonic heart is established.
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Hill AA, Riley PR. Differential regulation of Hand1 homodimer and Hand1-E12 heterodimer activity by the cofactor FHL2. Mol Cell Biol 2004; 24:9835-47. [PMID: 15509787 PMCID: PMC525463 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.24.22.9835-9847.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) factor Hand1 plays an essential role in cardiac morphogenesis, and yet its precise function remains unknown. Protein-protein interactions involving Hand1 provide a means of determining how Hand1-induced gene expression in the developing heart might be regulated. Hand1 is known to form either heterodimers with near-ubiquitous E-factors and other lineage-restricted class B bHLH proteins or homodimers with itself in vitro. To date, there have been no reported Hand1 protein interactions involving non-bHLH proteins. Heterodimer-versus-homodimer choice is mediated by the phosphorylation status of Hand1; however, little is known about the in vivo function of these dimers or, importantly, how they are regulated. In an effort to understand how Hand1 activity in the heart might be regulated postdimerization, we have investigated tertiary Hand1-protein interactions with non-bHLH factors. We describe a novel interaction of Hand1 with the LIM domain protein FHL2, a known transcriptional coactivator and corepressor expressed in the developing cardiovascular system. FHL2 interacts with Hand1 via the bHLH domain and is able to repress Hand1/E12 heterodimer-induced transcription but has no effect on Hand1/Hand1 homodimer activity. This effect of FHL2 is not mediated either at the level of dimerization or via an effect of Hand1/E12 DNA binding. In summary, our data describe a novel differential regulation of Hand1 heterodimers versus homodimers by association of the cofactor FHL2 and provide insight into the potential for a tertiary level of control of Hand1 activity in the developing heart.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison A Hill
- Molecular Medicine Unit, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford St., London WC1N 1EH, United Kingdom
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