Aberrant Global and Jagged-Mediated Notch Signaling Disrupts Segregation Between wt1-Expressing and Steroidogenic Tissues in Zebrafish

Although the zebrafish interrenal tissue has been used as a model for steroidogenesis and genesis of the adrenal gland, its specification and morphogenesis remains largely unclear. In the present study, we explored how the Wilms tumor 1 (WT1)-expressing cells are segregated from the SF-1-expressing steroidogenic cells in the zebrafish model. The interrenal tissue precursors expressing ff1b, the equivalent of mammalian SF-1, were derived from wt1-expressing pronephric primordia in the zebrafish embryo. Through histochemistry and in situ hybridization, we demonstrated that the size of functionally differentiated interrenal tissue was substantially increased on global inhibition of the Notch signaling pathway and was accompanied by a disrupted segregation between the wt1- and ff1b-expressing cells. As the Notch pathway was conditionally activated during interrenal specification, differentiation, but not ff1b expression, of interrenal tissue was drastically compromised. In embryos deficient for Notch ligands jagged 1b and 2b, transgenic reporter activity of wt1b promoter was detected within the steroidogenic interrenal tissue. In conclusion, our results indicate that Jagged-Notch signaling is required (1) for segregation between wt1-expressing cells and differentiated steroidogenic tissue; and (2) to modulate the extent of functional differentiation in the steroidogenic interrenal tissue.