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Abstract

We have recently identified the p53-related ΔNp63 gene as a transcriptional target of Bmp signaling that encodes a transcriptional repressor blocking neural development in the zebrafish ectoderm. However, in contrast to Bmps, the neural-repressing effect of forced ΔNp63α expression is restricted to the presumptive forebrain, while posterior regions of the brain are not affected. Here, we show that this is due to instability of ΔNp63α protein on the dorsal side of the embryo. In a yeast-two-hybrid screen, we isolated two ΔNp63α-modifying enzymes, the SUMO-conjugating enzyme Ubc9 and the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4. The proteins bind to distinct sites in the C-terminal region of ΔNp63α, which are absent in the shorter and more stable ΔNp63γ isoform. Similarly, mutant versions of ΔNp63α unable to bind Nedd4 or Ubc9 are stabilized. ΔNp63α is sumoylated and ubiquitinated both in HEK293 cells and in zebrafish embryos, and Nedd4 promotes ubiquitination and instability of ΔNp63α protein, with lysine residue 637 serving as a potential alternative sumoylation and ubiquitination site that is crucial for ΔNp63α destabilization. In zebrafish, ubc9.1 and nedd4 show restricted expression on the dorsal side of the embryo, where ΔNp63α instability can be overcome upon blockage of endogenous Nedd4 activity, or upon injection of mutant versions of ΔNp63α that are unable to bind Nedd4 or Ubc9. This results in a more widespread neural repression, affecting the entire Bmp-sensitive neuroectoderm. In sum, our data indicate that ΔNp63α is ubiquitinated in a Nedd4- and sumoylated in a Ubc9-dependent fashion, and that these modifications can regulate ΔNp63α stability in the zebrafish ectoderm.