Candiani Simona, Lacalli Thurston C, Parodi Manuela, Oliveri Diana, Pestarino Mario
Department of Biology, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Dev Dyn. 2008 May;237(5):1399-411. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.21541.
The cholinergic gene locus (CGL), consisting of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT)/choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) gene, encodes two specific cholinergic neuronal markers used extensively to study cholinergic transmission. In the present work, we isolated the amphioxus homologs of VAChT and ChAT and examined their expression during development. Analysis of the 5' untranslated region of VAChT and ChAT suggests that the splicing of the VAChT/ChAT mRNA has been evolutionarily conserved in amphioxus and mammals. By double whole-mount in situ hybridization, we demonstrate that VAChT and ChAT are coexpressed in the same cells. They are first expressed in four pairs of differentiating cells in the neural plate. Their later expression is primarily in the anterior nerve cord in several types of motoneurons, some of the interneurons and in the receptor cells of the larval ocellus.
胆碱能基因位点（CGL）由囊泡乙酰胆碱转运体（VAChT）/胆碱乙酰转移酶（ChAT）基因组成，编码两种广泛用于研究胆碱能传递的特定胆碱能神经元标记物。在本研究中，我们分离了文昌鱼VAChT和ChAT的同源物，并检测了它们在发育过程中的表达。对VAChT和ChAT 5'非翻译区的分析表明，VAChT/ChAT mRNA的剪接在文昌鱼和哺乳动物中具有进化保守性。通过双重全胚胎原位杂交，我们证明VAChT和ChAT在同一细胞中共表达。它们首先在神经板中的四对分化细胞中表达。它们随后的表达主要在几种运动神经元、一些中间神经元的前神经索以及幼虫眼点的受体细胞中。
