Zebrafish Gpr161 contributes to basal hedgehog repression in a tissue-specific manner

Abstract

Hedgehog (Hh) ligands act as morphogens to direct patterning and proliferation during embryonic development. Protein kinase A (PKA) is a central negative regulator of Hh signalling, and in the absence of Hh ligands, PKA activity prevents inappropriate expression of Hh target genes. The Gs- coupled receptor Gpr161 contributes to the basal Hh repression machinery by activating PKA, although the extent of this contribution is unclear. Here we show that loss of Gpr161 in zebrafish leads to constitutive activation of low-, but not high-level Hh target gene expression in the neural tube. In contrast, in the myotome, both high- and low-level Hh signalling is constitutively activated in the absence of Gpr161 function. Our results suggest that the relative contribution of Gpr161 to basal repression of Hh signalling is tissue-specific. Distinct combinations of G-protein-coupled receptors may allow the fine-tuning of PKA activity to ensure the appropriate sensitivity to Hh across different tissues.