Glial Cells Missing Gene Upregulated by Ecdysone in Drosophila

Abstract

The Drosophilaglial cells missing (gcm) gene is not only essential for generating embryonic glial differentiation but also necessary and sufficient for generating glial cells during the postembryonic stage. However, the mechanisms of how the gcm gene is mediated are still elusive. This study reveals that gcm was expressed with fluctuating variation during the third instar larval and pupal stage, the 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) treatment can upregulate gcm expression, the knockdown of EcR-A and USP1 led to a reduced transcript level of gcm in S2 cells. These results suggest that the 20E signaling pathway can mediate gcm expression through the 20E receptor EcR-A and its heterodimer USP1.