Coronary vessel development requires activation of the TrkB neurotrophin receptor by the Wilms' tumor transcription factor Wt1.

ABSTRACT: The formation of intramyocardial blood vessels is critical for normal heart development and tissue repair after infarction. We report here expression of the Wilms' tumor gene-1, Wt1, in coronary vessels, which could contribute to the defective cardiac vascularization in Wt1-/- mice. Furthermore, the high-affinity neurotrophin receptor TrkB, which is expressed in the epicardium and subepicardial blood vessels, was nearly absent from Wt1-deficient hearts. Activation of Wt1 in an inducible cell line significantly enhanced TrkB expression. The promoter of NTRK2, the gene encoding TrkB, was stimulated approximately 10-fold by transient cotransfection of a Wt1 expression construct. The critical DNA-binding site for activation of the NTRK2 promoter by Wt1 was delineated by DNase I footprint analy

SUBMITTER: Wagner N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1276736 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature