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Although UHRF1 is essential for many epigenetic marks, the mechanism that regulates UHRF1 is not understood. This study shows that a key component of the cell cycle machinery—cyclin-dependent kinase 2/cyclin A2—phosphorylates UHRF1 and that this phosphorylation is essential for early zebrafish development., Ubiquitin-like, containing PHD and RING finger domains 1 (uhrf1) is regulated at the transcriptional level during the cell cycle and in developing zebrafish embryos. We identify phosphorylation as a novel means of regulating UHRF1 and demonstrate that Uhrf1 phosphorylation is required for gastrulation in zebrafish. Human UHRF1 contains a conserved cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) phosphorylation site at Ser-661 that is phosphorylated in vitro by CDK2 partnered with cyclin A2 (CCNA2), but not cyclin E. An antibody specific for phospho-Ser-661 recognizes UHRF1 in both mammalian cancer cells and in nontransformed zebrafish cells, but not in zebrafish bearing a mutation in ccna2. Depleting Uhrf1 from zebrafish embryos by morpholino injection causes arrest before gastrulation and early embryonic death. This phenotype is rescued by wild-type UHRF1, but not by UHRF1 in which the phospho-acceptor site is mutated, demonstrating that UHRF1 phosphorylation is essential for embryogenesis. UHRF1 was detected in the nucleus and cytoplasm, whereas nonphosphorylatable UHRF1 is unable to localize to the cytoplasm, suggesting the importance of localization in UHRF1 function. Together, these data point to an essential role for UHRF1 phosphorylation by CDK/CCNA2 during early vertebrate development.

A therapeutic dance program was offered to teenage girls and women with the chromosomal disorder Turner Syndrome whose main clinical features are short stature, failure of pubertal development and infertility. The program aimed to improve the participants' self esteem and confidence and to provide a medium in which to address specific psycho-social issues raised by the clients and informed by the research literature. The dance project was held within the context of social work practice in a hospital paediatric endocrinology department. It was shown to be a useful medium to observe significant habitual physical behaviour which was not always observable in the clinical consultation. Video recordings were made. Difficulties in participant assertiveness and decision making in group dance and some difficulties in reading the body movement cues of others were observed, suggesting a starting point for future research. The paper considers societal attitudes which may affect these girls and women achieving the status of the confident woman.