Characterization of Msantd4 Gene in the Development of Xenopus Laevis

msantd4 is a not well-characterized gene had been revealed to function as a repressor of HSPB1 and indirectly involved in the cold shock response. The gene-disease retrieval results implied that the msantd4 gene may be attributed to Pick disease. In this study, we first characterized msantd4 gene in the development of Xenopus laevis. MSANTD4 protein showed more than 72% identity to human and mouse MSANTD4. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that the transcripts of msantd4 were detected at all stages of development and in numerous adult tissues. Whole-mount in situ hybridization revealed that msantd4 is expressed at the animal pole from stage 2 onward. Inhibition of msantd4 using antisense morpholino oligonucleotides (MOs) resulted in atrophy of brain and body segments resembling Pick disease symptoms. More interestingly, TUNEL and Phospho-Histone 3 (PH3) Staining analysis revealed that knockdown and overexpression of msantd4 resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation and pro-apoptosis in embryos. Taken together, these data suggested that msantd4 plays an important role in Xenopus laevis development and may be involved in Pick disease. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4559111