Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Torino School of Medicine, Candiolo, Italy.
Dev Dyn. 2010 Feb;239(2):688-702. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.22196.
Neuroligins constitute a family of transmembrane proteins localized at the postsynaptic side of both excitatory and inhibitory synapses of the central nervous system. They are involved in synaptic function and maturation and recent studies have linked mutations in specific human Neuroligins to mental retardation and autism. We isolated the human Neuroligin homologs in Danio rerio. Next, we studied their gene structures and we reconstructed the evolution of the Neuroligin genes across vertebrate phyla. Using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, we analyzed the expression and alternative splicing pattern of each gene during zebrafish embryonic development and in different adult organs. By in situ hybridization, we analyzed the temporal and spatial expression pattern during embryonic development and larval stages and we found that zebrafish Neuroligins are expressed throughout the nervous system. Globally, our results indicate that, during evolution, specific subfunctionalization events occurred within paralogous members of this gene family in zebrafish.
神经连接蛋白构成了一个跨膜蛋白家族，位于中枢神经系统的兴奋性和抑制性突触的后突触侧。它们参与突触功能和成熟，最近的研究将特定人类神经连接蛋白的突变与智力迟钝和自闭症联系起来。我们在斑马鱼中分离出人类神经连接蛋白同源物。接下来，我们研究了它们的基因结构，并重建了神经连接蛋白基因在脊椎动物门中的进化。使用逆转录聚合酶链反应，我们分析了每个基因在斑马鱼胚胎发育过程中和不同成年器官中的表达和选择性剪接模式。通过原位杂交，我们分析了胚胎发育和幼虫阶段的时空表达模式，发现斑马鱼神经连接蛋白在整个神经系统中表达。总的来说，我们的结果表明，在进化过程中，该基因家族的同源物在斑马鱼中发生了特定的亚功能化事件。
