Foxd4l1.1 negatively regulates transcription of neural repressor ventx1.1 during neuroectoderm formation in Xenopus embryos

Neuroectoderm formation is the first step in development of a proper nervous system for vertebrates. The developmental decision to form a non-neural ectoderm versus a neural one involves the regulation of BMP signaling, first reported many decades ago. However, the precise regulatory mechanism by which this is accomplished has not been fully elucidated, particularly for transcriptional regulation of certain key transcription factors. BMP4 inhibition is a required step in eliciting neuroectoderm from ectoderm and Foxd4l1.1 is one of the earliest neural genes highly expressed in the neuroectoderm and conserved across vertebrates, including humans. In this work, we focused on how Foxd4l1.1 downregulates the neural repressive pathway. Foxd4l1.1 inhibited BMP4/Smad1 signaling and triggered neuroectoderm formation in animal cap explants of Xenopus embryos. Foxd4l1.1 directly bound within the promoter of endogenous neural repressor ventx1.1 and inhibited ventx1.1 transcription. Foxd4l1.1 also physically interacted with Xbra in the nucleus and inhibited Xbra-induced ventx1.1 transcription. In addition, Foxd4l1.1 also reduced nuclear localization of Smad1 to inhibit Smad1-mediated ventx1.1 transcription. Foxd4l1.1 reduced the direct binding of Xbra and Smad1 on ventx1.1 promoter regions to block Xbra/Smad1-induced synergistic activation of ventx1.1 transcription. Collectively, Foxd4l1.1 negatively regulates transcription of a neural repressor ventx1.1 by multiple mechanisms in its exclusively occupied territory of neuroectoderm, and thus leading to primary neurogenesis. In conjunction with the results of our previous findings that ventx1.1 directly represses foxd4l1.1, the reciprocal repression of ventx1.1 and foxd4l1.1 is significant in at least in part specifying the mechanism for the non-neural versus neural ectoderm fate determination in Xenopus embryos.