The Journal of Neuroscience, November 12, 2008, 28(46):12010-12022; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3800-08.2008
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Development/Plasticity/Repair
Molecular Correlates of Laminar Differences in the Macaque Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus
Karl D. Murray,1
Carol M. Rubin,2
Edward G. Jones,1 and
Leo M. Chalupa2,3
1Center for Neuroscience and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and 2Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616, and 3Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95817
Correspondence should be addressed to Leo M. Chalupa, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, 196 Briggs Hall, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616. Email: lmchalupa{at}ucdavis.edu
In anthropoid primates, cells in the magnocellular and parvocellular layers of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) are distinguished by unique retinal inputs, receptive field properties, and laminar terminations of their axons in visual cortex. To identify genes underlying these phenotypic differences, we screened RNA from magnocellular and parvocellular layers of adult macaque dLGN for layer-specific differences in gene expression. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and in situ hybridization were used to confirm gene expression in adult and fetal macaque. Cellular localization of gene expression revealed 11 new layer-specific markers, of which 10 were enriched in magnocellular layers (BRD4, CAV1, EEF1A2, FAM108A1, IN
, KCNA1, NEFH, NEFL, PPP2R2C, and SFRP2) and one was enriched in parvocellular and koniocellular layers (TCF7L2). These markers relate to functions involved in development, transcription, and cell signaling, with Wnt/β-catenin and neurofilament pathways figuring prominently. A subset of markers was differentially expressed in the fetal dLGN during a developmental epoch critical for magnocellular and parvocellular pathway formation. These results provide new evidence for the molecular differentiation of magnocellular and parvocellular streams through the primate dLGN.
Key words: axon targeting; cell signaling; cytoarchitecture; plasticity; transcriptome; vision
Received Aug. 8, 2008;
accepted Sept. 18, 2008.
Correspondence should be addressed to Leo M. Chalupa, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, 196 Briggs Hall, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616. Email: lmchalupa{at}ucdavis.edu
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Differential Gene Expression in the Developing Lateral Geniculate Nucleus and Medial Geniculate Nucleus Reveals Novel Roles for Zic4 and Foxp2 in Visual and Auditory Pathway Development
J. Neurosci.,
October 28, 2009;
29(43):
13672 - 13683.
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