High impact information on ush

• In contrast, the mutant pnr protein with lesions in this finger associates only poorly with Ush and activates transcription even when cotransfected with Ush [1].
• Viable hypomorphic u-shaped mutants display additional dorsocentral and scutellar bristles that result from overexpression of achaete and scute [2].
• Furthermore, expression of Lozenge and SrpNC, a Srp isoform with N- and C-terminal zinc fingers, inhibited u-shaped expression, indicating that crystal cell activation coincided with the down-regulation of this repressor-encoding gene [3].
• The Drosophila FOG homologue U-shaped (Ush) is expressed similarly in the blood cell anlage during embryogenesis [4].
• Conversely, ectopic expression of ush results in a decrease in the number of cardioblasts in the heart and the inhibition of a cardial cell enhancer normally regulated by the synergistic activity of the Pannier and Tinman cardiogenic factors [5].

Biological context of ush

• In addition, we analyzed cis-regulation of ush expression in the lymph gland and identified similarities and differences between regulatory strategies used during embryonic and lymph gland hematopoiesis [6].
• We demonstrate that this cell loss is a consequence of programmed cell death (apoptosis) in ush, hnt and srp, but not in tup [7].
• The multitype zinc-finger protein U-shaped functions in heart cell specification in the Drosophila embryo [5].
• Multitype zinc-finger proteins of the Friend of GATA/U-shaped (Ush) class function as transcriptional regulators of gene expression through their modulation of GATA factor activity [5].

Anatomical context of ush

• To better understand intrinsic properties of these proteins, we investigated the expression and function of the ush gene during Drosophila embryogenesis. ush is dynamically expressed in the embryo, including several cell types present within the mesoderm [5].

Regulatory relationships of ush

• Interestingly, expression of pannier and u-shaped is regulated by Decapentaplegic signaling that provides the positional information along the anterior/posterior axis, in a concentration-dependent manner [8].

Other interactions of ush

• By contrast, pan-mesodermal overexpression of pannier ectopically expands tinman expression, whereas overexpression of u-shaped inhibits cardiogenesis [9].
• In particular, proper LE specification requires the function of genes such as u-shaped and hindsight, which are direct transcriptional targets of the early Decapentaplegic/Screw patterning gradient, to establish a competency zone from which LE arises [10].
• The Pannier/U-shaped complex serves as a repressor and a transcriptional activator, respectively, for wingless and u-shaped expression [11].

References