Maloney Susan E, Khangura Eakta, Dougherty Joseph D
Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8232, 4566 Scott Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
Brain Struct Funct. 2016 May;221(4):1809-31. doi: 10.1007/s00429-015-1005-z. Epub 2015 Feb 15.
The gene CUG-BP, Elav-like factor 6 (CELF6) appears to be important for proper functioning of neurocircuitry responsible for behavioral output. We previously discovered that polymorphisms in or near CELF6 may be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in humans and that the deletion of this gene in mice results in a partial ASD-like phenotype. Here, to begin to understand which circuits might mediate these behavioral disruptions, we sought to establish in what structures, with what abundance, and at which ages Celf6 protein is present in the mouse brain. Using both a knockout-validated antibody to Celf6 and a novel transgenic mouse line, we characterized Celf6 expression in the mouse brain across development. Celf6 gene products were present early in neurodevelopment and in adulthood. The greatest protein expression was observed in distinct nuclei of the diencephalon and neuromodulatory cell populations of the midbrain and hindbrain, with clear expression in dopaminergic, noradrenergic, histaminergic, serotonergic and cholinergic populations, and a variety of presumptive peptidergic cells of the hypothalamus. These results suggest that disruption of Celf6 expression in hypothalamic nuclei may impact a variety of behaviors downstream of neuropeptide activity, while disruption in neuromodulatory transmitter expressing areas such as the ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra, raphe nuclei and locus coeruleus may have far-reaching influences on overall brain activity.
基因CUG - BP,Elav样因子6(CELF6)对于负责行为输出的神经回路的正常运作似乎很重要。我们之前发现,CELF6内部或附近的多态性可能与人类自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)相关,并且在小鼠中删除该基因会导致部分ASD样表型。在此,为了开始了解哪些神经回路可能介导这些行为紊乱,我们试图确定Celf6蛋白在小鼠大脑中的存在结构、丰度以及年龄阶段。我们使用针对Celf6的经过基因敲除验证的抗体和一种新型转基因小鼠品系,对小鼠大脑发育过程中的Celf6表达进行了表征。Celf6基因产物在神经发育早期和成年期均有存在。在间脑的不同核团以及中脑和后脑的神经调节细胞群体中观察到最高的蛋白表达,在多巴胺能、去甲肾上腺素能、组胺能、5-羟色胺能和胆碱能群体以及下丘脑的各种假定肽能细胞中均有明显表达。这些结果表明,下丘脑核团中Celf6表达的破坏可能会影响神经肽活性下游的多种行为,而在神经调节递质表达区域(如腹侧被盖区、黑质、中缝核和蓝斑)的破坏可能会对整体脑活动产生深远影响。