Physiological effects of KDM5C on neural crest migration and eye formation during vertebrate development

Lysine-specific histone demethylase 5C (KDM5C) belongs to the jumonji family of demethylases and is specific for the di- and tri-demethylation of lysine 4 residues on histone 3 (H3K4 me2/3). KDM5C is expressed in the brain and skeletal muscles of humans and is associated with various biologically significant processes. KDM5C is known to be associated with X-linked mental retardation and is also involved in the development of cancer. However, the developmental significance of KDM5C has not been explored yet. In the present study, we investigated the physiological roles of KDM5C during Xenopus laevis embryonic development. Loss-of-function analysis using kdm5c antisense morpholino oligonucleotides indicated that kdm5c knockdown led to small-sized heads, reduced cartilage size, and malformed eyes (i.e., small-sized and deformed eyes). Molecular analyses of KDM5C functional roles using whole-mount in situ hybridization, β-galactosidase staining, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed that loss of kdm5c resulted in reduced expression levels of neural crest specifiers and genes involved in eye development. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis indicated the significance of KDM5C in morphogenesis and organogenesis. Our findings indicated that KDM5C is associated with embryonic development and provided additional information regarding the complex and dynamic gene network that regulates neural crest formation and eye development. This study emphasizes the functional significance of KDM5C in Xenopus embryogenesis; however, further analysis is needed to explore the interactions of KDM5C with specific developmental genes.