JSON
Jouhilahti EM, Madissoon E, Vesterlund L, Töhönen V, Krjutškov K, Plaza Reyes A, Petropoulos S, Månsson R, Linnarsson S, Bürglin T, Lanner F, Hovatta O, Katayama S, Kere J
Development 143 (19) 3459-3469 [2016-10-01; online 2016-08-30]
Leucine twenty homeobox (LEUTX) is a paired (PRD)-like homeobox gene that is expressed almost exclusively in human embryos during preimplantation development. We previously identified a novel transcription start site for the predicted human LEUTX gene based on the transcriptional analysis of human preimplantation embryos. The novel variant encodes a protein with a complete homeodomain. Here, we provide a detailed description of the molecular cloning of the complete homeodomain-containing LEUTX Using a human embryonic stem cell overexpression model we show that the complete homeodomain isoform is functional and sufficient to activate the transcription of a large proportion of the genes that are upregulated in human embryo genome activation (EGA), whereas the previously predicted partial homeodomain isoform is largely inactive. Another PRD-like transcription factor, DPRX, is then upregulated as a powerful repressor of transcription. We propose a two-stage model of human EGA in which LEUTX acts as a transcriptional activator at the 4-cell stage, and DPRX as a balancing repressor at the 8-cell stage. We conclude that LEUTX is a candidate regulator of human EGA.
PubMed 27578796
DOI 10.1242/dev.134510
Crossref 10.1242/dev.134510
pmc: PMC5087614
pii: dev.134510