Int. J. Dev. Biol. 49: 401 - 408 (2005)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.052005dl

Vol 49, Issue 4

The role of XTRAP-gamma in Xenopus pronephros development

Open Access | Original Article | Published: 1 June 2005

Dong-hui Li¹, Techuan Chan², Reiko Satow³, Shinji Komazaki⁴, Kouhei Hashizume¹ and Makoto Asashima*^,2

¹Department of Pediatric Surgery and Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan, ²Life Sciences, ICORP Project (JST), Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan, ³Dept. Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan and ⁴Dept. Anatomy, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan

Abstract

We isolated and characterized the Xenopus translocon-associated protein XTRAP-gamma, one of four subunits of the translocon-associated protein complex. TRAP has been proposed to aid the translocation of nascent polypeptides into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, but this has not been demonstrated until now. XTRAP-gamma was specifically expressed in the pronephros tubules of Xenopus laevis from stage 25 during kidney development. Antisense morpholino oligonucleotide-mediated knockdown of XTRAP-gamma suppressed tubulogenesis and decreased expression of the pronephros marker genes Pax-2 and Wnt-4. XTRAP-gamma morpholinos also inhibited differentiation of the pronephros in activin/retinoic acid-treated animal caps. We conclude that XTRAP-gamma plays an important role in the process of pronephros differentiation.

Keywords

XTRAP-gamma, Xenopus laevis, pronephros, Pax-2, Wnt-4