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Target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling controls epithelial morphogenesis in the vertebrate intestine

Khadijah Makky1, Jackie Tekiela, Alan N Mayer

  • 1Gastroenterology Section, Department of Pediatrics and Children's Research Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA.

Developmental Biology
|January 16, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling controls zebrafish digestive tract development. Inhibition of TOR complex 1 (TORC1) specifically arrests intestinal morphogenesis and epithelial growth.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • The target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway is crucial for cell growth and proliferation.
  • Its role in specific organogenesis, particularly during vertebrate development, requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the function of TOR signaling in zebrafish organogenesis.
  • To determine the specific TOR complex mediating developmental effects in the intestine.

Main Methods:

  • Full-length zebrafish TOR (ztor) cDNA amplification and sequencing.
  • In situ hybridization to analyze ztor expression patterns.
  • Zebrafish embryo treatment with rapamycin (TOR inhibitor).
  • Morpholino-mediated knockdown of TOR pathway components.

Main Results:

  • Zebrafish TOR (ztor) is ubiquitously expressed early, with dynamic gut expression between 48-72 hours post-fertilization.
  • Rapamycin treatment arrested digestive tract development at the primitive gut tube stage, inhibiting intestinal epithelial growth, morphogenesis, and differentiation.
  • Knockdown experiments confirmed that TOR complex 1 (TORC1) mediates these effects.

Conclusions:

  • TOR signaling is essential for vertebrate intestinal epithelial morphogenesis.
  • TOR complex 1 (TORC1) specifically regulates intestinal development beyond general cell growth and proliferation.

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