PR Domain Containing Protein 5 (PRDM5)

PRDM5 is a recently identified family member that functions as a transcriptional repressor and behaves as a putative tumor suppressor in different types of cancer.  Overexpression of PRDM5 mRNA had opposite effects on the development of anterior neural structures, and resulted in embryos with a shorter body axis due to posterior truncation, a bigger head and abnormal somites. In situ hybridization experiments aimed at analyzing the integrity of wnt pathways during gastrulation at the level of the prechordal plate revealed inhibition of non canonical PCP wnt signaling in embryos overexpressing PRDM5, and over-activation of wnt/β-catenin signaling in embryos lacking Prdm5. PRDM5 regulates the expression of components of both canonical and non canonical wnt pathways and negatively modulates wnt signaling in vivo.