2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Identification and analysis of genes specially expressed in fetal and newborn brains
| Project/Area Number |
11470506
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Human genetics
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| Research Institution | Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Medical Research Institute |
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Principal Investigator |
YASUKOCHI Yukio Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Medical Research Institute, Professor, 難治疾患研究所, 教授 (60037398)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TAKASHIMA Sachio National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry, Director, 神経研究所, 部長 (70038743)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1999 – 2001
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| Keywords | Gene expression / Human fetal brain / Sox family |
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| Research Abstract |
We obtained 4 genes specially expressed in the human fetal brain by a differential display method. Two of them were reported to be Sox 11 and BBP-like protein 2, and the remainder were identified to be hypothetical proteins. Sox protein family contains a DNA-binding HMG domain and is classified into seven subgroups, A-G, according to the identity of amino acids within HMG domain. Sox4 and Sox11 belong to the subgroup C and also show overlapping expression in the developing central nervous systems. We detected the high expression levels of Sox4 and Sox11 mRNAs in the human 19 week-gestation brain by RT-PCR and Northern blotting. The detailed analyzes of the expression in the cortical plate by in situ hybridization revealed that Sox4 and Sox11 mRNAs existed in the nascent apical dendrites. The results suggest that Sox4 and Sox11 might be transported as mRNA to dendrites and be involved in development of the dendrites. We have examined whether expression of Sox4 or Sox11 induces development of dendrites in neurons differentiated from P19, a mouse embryonic carcinoma cell line. Two expression vectors were constructed to generate Sox4 or Sox11 that was fused with the C-terminus of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Each vector was transfected into P19 cells, which had been added to all-trans retinoic acid, and differentiated into neuronal cells sprouting dendrites.
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