Stocker Adam M, Chenn Anjen
Department of Pathology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, 303 E. Chicago Ave., Ward 3-190, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
Brain Res. 2006 Feb 16;1073-1074:151-8. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2005.12.057. Epub 2006 Feb 2.
Alpha (alpha) catenin proteins can regulate both cell adhesion and cell proliferation. Here, we characterize the expression of two forms of alpha-catenin, alphaE-catenin and alphaN-catenin, in the developing cerebral cortex and primary cortical cultures. In situ hybridization and immunofluorescence studies reveal that alphaE-catenin is highly expressed in neuroepithelial precursor cells in the developing cortical ventricular zone, with markedly reduced expression in the cortical plate; in contrast, alphaN-catenin expression is low in the ventricular zone and high in the developing cortical plate. In the ventricular zone, immunoreactivity for both alphaE-catenin and alphaN-catenin is enriched in rings at the lumenal surface, reflecting localization at adherens junctions together with beta-catenin. Expression of alphaE-catenin in primary cortical precursor cultures is initially robust, but declines as neural precursors differentiate into neurons. Reflecting its expression pattern in vivo, alphaN-catenin is expressed in both neural precursors as well in neurons differentiated in culture. These differential expression patterns of alphaE-catenin and alphaN-catenin suggest both distinct and overlapping functions during cortical development.
α（阿尔法）连环蛋白可调节细胞黏附和细胞增殖。在此，我们描述了两种形式的α连环蛋白，即αE连环蛋白和αN连环蛋白，在发育中的大脑皮质及原代皮质培养物中的表达情况。原位杂交和免疫荧光研究表明，αE连环蛋白在发育中的皮质脑室区的神经上皮前体细胞中高表达，而在皮质板中的表达明显降低；相反，αN连环蛋白在脑室区表达较低，而在发育中的皮质板中表达较高。在脑室区，αE连环蛋白和αN连环蛋白的免疫反应性在管腔表面的环中富集，这反映了它们与β连环蛋白一起定位于黏着连接。αE连环蛋白在原代皮质前体培养物中的表达最初很强，但随着神经前体分化为神经元而下降。反映其在体内的表达模式，αN连环蛋白在神经前体以及培养中分化的神经元中均有表达。αE连环蛋白和αN连环蛋白的这些差异表达模式表明它们在皮质发育过程中具有不同但又重叠的功能。
