Search

Highlights: [•] The Snai1 and Snai2 genes are important for cartilage development. [•] These genes function redundantly in mice in vivo. [•] The SNAI1 and SNAI2 proteins bind both their own and each other’s promoter. [•] These results help provide an explanation for this genetic redundancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Snail, a zinc-finger transcriptional repressor, is essential for mesoderm and neural crest cell formation and epithelial–mesenchymal transition. The basic helix–loop–helix transcription factors E2A and Twist have been linked with Snail during embryonic development. In this study, we examined the role of Snail in cellular differentiation through regulation of p21WAF/CIP1 expression. A reporter assay with the p21 promoter demonstrated that Snail inhibited expression of p21 induced by E2A. Co-expression of Snail with Twist showed additive inhibitory effects. Deletion mutants of the p21 promoter revealed that sequences between −270 and −264, which formed a complex with unidentified nuclear factor(s), were critical for E2A and Snail function. The E2A-dependent expression of the endogenous p21 gene was also inhibited by Snail. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]