| First Author | Onishi A | Year | 2009 |
| Journal | Neuron | Volume | 61 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 234-46 |
| PubMed ID | 19186166 | Mgi Jnum | J:147163 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3839511 | Doi | 10.1016/j.neuron.2008.12.006 |
| Citation | Onishi A, et al. (2009) Pias3-dependent SUMOylation directs rod photoreceptor development. Neuron 61(2):234-46 |
| abstractText | Specification of retinal rod photoreceptors is determined by several different transcription factors that activate expression of rod-specific genes and repress expression of cone photoreceptor-specific genes. The mechanism by which this dual regulation occurs is unclear. We have found that Pias3, a transcriptional coregulator and E3 SUMO ligase that is selectively expressed in developing photoreceptors, promotes the differentiation of rod photoreceptors while preventing rods from adopting cone photoreceptor-like characteristics. Pias3 binds the photoreceptor-specific transcription factors Crx and Nr2e3 and is specifically targeted to the promoters of photoreceptor-specific genes. Pias3 SUMOylates Nr2e3, converting it into a potent repressor of cone-specific gene expression. Rod- and cone-specific promoters are bound by hyperSUMOylated proteins in rod photoreceptors, and blocking SUMOylation in photoreceptors results in cells with morphological and molecular features of cones and an absence of rod-specific markers. Our data thus identify Pias3-mediated SUMOylation of photoreceptor-specific transcription factors as a key mechanism of rod specification. |
