Sieber Martin A, Storm Robert, Martinez-de-la-Torre Margaret, Müller Thomas, Wende Hagen, Reuter Katja, Vasyutina Elena, Birchmeier Carmen
Department of Neuroscience, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
J Neurosci. 2007 May 2;27(18):4902-9. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0717-07.2007.
Distinct types of relay neurons in the hindbrain process somatosensory or viscerosensory information. How neurons choose between these two fates is unclear. We show here that the homeobox gene Lbx1 is essential for imposing a somatosensory fate on relay neurons in the hindbrain. In Lbx1 mutant mice, viscerosensory relay neurons are specified at the expense of somatosensory relay neurons. Thus Lbx1 expression distinguishes between the somatosensory or viscerosensory fate of relay neurons.
后脑中有不同类型的中继神经元处理躯体感觉或内脏感觉信息。目前尚不清楚神经元如何在这两种命运之间做出选择。我们在此表明,同源框基因Lbx1对于赋予后脑中继神经元躯体感觉命运至关重要。在Lbx1突变小鼠中,内脏感觉中继神经元得以特化,代价是躯体感觉中继神经元。因此,Lbx1的表达区分了中继神经元的躯体感觉或内脏感觉命运。