Png-1, a nervous system-specific zinc finger gene, identifies regions containing postmitotic neurons during mammalian embryonic development
✍ Scribed by Weiner, Joshua A.; Chun, Jerold
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1997
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 697 KB
- Volume
- 381
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0021-9967
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
To identify genes associated with early postmitotic cortical neurons, gene fragments were examined for expression in postmitotic, but not proliferative, zones of the embryonic murine cortex. Through this approach, a novel member of the zinc finger gene family, containing 6 C 2 HC fingers, was isolated and named postmitotic neural gene-1, or png-1. Embryonic png-1 expression was: 1) nervous system-specific; 2) restricted to zones containing postmitotic neurons; and 3) detected in all developing neural structures examined. In the cortex, png-1 expression was first observed on embryonic day 11, correlating temporally and spatially with the known generation of the first cortical neurons. Gradients of png-1 expression throughout the embryonic central nervous system further correlated temporally and spatially with known gradients of neuron production. With development, expression remained restricted to postmitotic zones, including those containing newly-postmitotic neurons. Png-1 was also detected within two days of neural retinoic acid induction in P19 cells, and expression increased with further neuronal differentiation. These data implicate png-1 as one of the earliest molecular markers for postmitotic neuronal regions and suggest a function as a panneural transcription factor associated with neuronal differentiation.