Human Molecular Genetics, Vol 7, 1497-1505, Copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press
S Gottlieb, SD Hanes, JA Golden, RJ Oakey and ML Budarf
The vast majority of patients with DiGeorge syndrome (DGS) and
velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) have deletions of chromosomal region
22q11.2. These patients exhibit broad and variable phenotypes that include
conotruncal cardiac defects, hypocalcemia, palatal and facial anomalies and
developmental delay. Most of these abnormalities are thought to be due to
defects in neural crest cell migration or differentiation. We have
identified a homeobox-containing gene, Goosecoid-like (GSCL), that is in
the region within 22q11 that is deleted most consistently in patients with
DGS/VCFS. The GSCL gene is expressed in a limited number of adult tissues
as well as in early human development, and is a member of a family of
homeobox genes in vertebrates that includes Goosecoid and GSX. In this
report, we present functional studies of the GSCL protein and determine the
expression pattern of the GSCL gene in mouse embryos. We demonstrate that
GSCL exhibits DNA sequence-specific recognition of sites bound by the
Drosophila anterior morphogen, Bicoid. Several of these sites (TAATCCC)
were found in the 5' upstream region of the GSCL gene itself, and we
present evidence suggesting that GSCL might regulate its own transcription.
In situ hybridization revealed that the mouse ortholog of GSCL, Gscl, is
expressed in the brain starting as early as embryonic day 9.5, and
expression continues in adults. This expression pattern is consistent with
GSCL having either an indirect role in the development of neural
crest-derived structures or a direct role in a subset of the phenotype
observed in DGS/VCFS, such as learning disorders or psychiatric disease.
ARTICLES
Goosecoid-like, a gene deleted in DiGeorge and velocardiofacial syndromes, recognizes DNA with a bicoid-like specificity and is expressed in the developing mouse brain
Division of Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
![]()
CiteULike
Connotea
Del.icio.us What's this?