Relax promotes ectopic neuronal differentiation in Xenopus embryos

Relax promotes ectopic neuronal differentiation in Xenopus embryos

^*Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire de la Neurotransmission et des Processus Dégénératifs, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMRC9923, Bâtiment C.E.R.V.I., Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, 83 Bd de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France; and ^†Laboratoire de Morphogénèse Cellulaire et Progression Tumorale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 144, Institut Curie, 26 rue d’Ulm 75248 Paris Cedex 05, France

Abstract

We previously isolated a novel rat cDNA encoding a basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor named Relax, whose expression in the developing central nervous system is strictly limited to discrete domains containing precursor cells. The timing of Relax expression coincides with neuronal differentiation. To investigate the involvement of Relax in neurogenesis we tested whether Relax activated neural genes in the ectoderm by injecting Relax RNA into Xenopus embryos. We demonstrate that ectopic Relax expression induces a persistent enlargement of the neural plate and converts presumptive epidermal cells into neurons. This indicates that Relax, when overexpressed in Xenopus embryos, has a neuronal fate-determination function. Analyses both of Relax overexpression in the frog and of the distribution of Relax in the rat neural tube strongly suggest that Relax is a neuronal fate-determination gene.