The Cloning and Developmental Regulation of Murine Diacylglycerol Kinase Zeta

Diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs) regulate the key signaling intermediates diacylglycerol (DAG) and phosphatidic acid (PA). We isolated cDNA clones of mouse diacylglycerol kinase zeta (mDGKzeta) and found that it shares 88% identity at the nucleic acid level and 95.5% identity at the amino acid level with human DGKzeta (hDGKzeta). Murine DGKzeta protein rose gradually during embryonic development, and was abundant in newborn and adult brains. By RNA whole-mount in situ hybridization, mDGKzeta was shown to be expressed in spinal ganglia and limb buds at low level in E11.5 embryos and at higher level in E12.5 embryos. In E13.5 embryos, DGKzeta mRNA was highly expressed in vibrissa follicles, in spinal ganglia, and in the interdigital regions of the developing limbs. Northern blotting showed that DGKzeta expression was limited to specific anatomical regions of the brain. Thus, the expression of DGKzeta is regulated temporally and spatially during mammalian development and correlates with the development of sensory neurons and regions undergoing apoptosis.