Caenorhabditis elegans LET-381 and DMD-4 control development of the mesodermal HMC endothelial cell.

ABSTRACT: Endothelial cells form the inner layer of blood vessels and play key roles in circulatory system development and function. A variety of endothelial cell types have been described through gene expression and transcriptome studies; nonetheless, the transcriptional programs that specify endothelial cell fate and maintenance are not well understood. To uncover such regulatory programs, we studied the C. elegans head mesodermal cell (HMC), a non-contractile mesodermal cell bearing molecular and functional similarities to vertebrate endothelial cells. Here, we demonstrate that a Forkhead transcription factor, LET-381, is required for HMC fate specification and maintenance of HMC gene expression. DMD-4, a DMRT transcription factor, acts downstream of and in conjunction with LET-381 to mediate the

SUBMITTER: Stefanakis N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12377808 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature