ELABELA: a hormone essential for heart development signals via the apelin receptor

Dev Cell. 2013 Dec 23;27(6):672-80. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2013.11.002. Epub 2013 Dec 5.

Abstract

We report here the discovery and characterization of a gene, ELABELA (ELA), encoding a conserved hormone of 32 amino acids. Present in human embryonic stem cells, ELA is expressed at the onset of zebrafish zygotic transcription and is ubiquitous in the naive ectodermal cells of the embryo. Using zinc-finger-nuclease-mediated gene inactivation in zebrafish, we created an allelic series of ela mutants. ela null embryos have impaired endoderm differentiation potential marked by reduced gata5 and sox17 expression. Loss of Ela causes embryos to develop with a rudimentary heart or no heart at all, surprisingly phenocopying the loss of the apelin receptor (aplnr), which we show serves as Ela's cognate G protein-coupled receptor. Our results reveal the existence of a peptide hormone, ELA, which, together with APLNR, forms an essential signaling axis for early cardiovascular development.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Apelin Receptors
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Elongin
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian / cytology
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian / metabolism*
  • Endoderm
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
  • Gene Frequency
  • Heart / embryology*
  • Humans
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Peptide Hormones / genetics
  • Peptide Hormones / metabolism*
  • Phenotype
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / genetics
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / metabolism*
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*
  • Zebrafish / embryology
  • Zebrafish / genetics
  • Zebrafish / metabolism
  • Zebrafish Proteins / genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins / metabolism*
  • Zinc Fingers

Substances

  • APELA protein, human
  • Apelin Receptors
  • Elongin
  • Peptide Hormones
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled
  • Transcription Factors
  • Zebrafish Proteins
  • apelin receptor, zebrafish