The insulator protein CTCF regulates Drosophila steroidogenesis

The steroid hormone ecdysone is a central regulator of insect development. In this report we show that CTCF expression in the prothoracic gland is required for full transcriptional activation of the Halloween genes spookier, shadow and noppera-bo, which encode ecdysone biosynthetic enzymes, and for...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Fresán, Ujué, Cuartero, Sergi, O'Connor, Michael B., Espinàs, Maria Lluïsa
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/133988
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/133988
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:CTCF
Ecdysone
Halloween genes
Developmental timing
Descripción
Sumario:The steroid hormone ecdysone is a central regulator of insect development. In this report we show that CTCF expression in the prothoracic gland is required for full transcriptional activation of the Halloween genes spookier, shadow and noppera-bo, which encode ecdysone biosynthetic enzymes, and for proper timing of ecdysone-responsive gene expression. Loss of CTCF results in delayed and less synchronized larval development that can only be rescued by feeding larvae with both, the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone and cholesterol. Moreover, CTCF-knockdown in prothoracic gland cells leads to increased lipid accumulation. In conclusion, the insulator protein CTCF is required for Halloween gene expression and cholesterol homeostasis in ecdysone-producing cells controlling steroidogenesis