PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Karl D. Murray
AU  - Carol M. Rubin
AU  - Edward G. Jones
AU  - Leo M. Chalupa
TI  - Molecular Correlates of Laminar Differences in the Macaque Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3800-08.2008
DP  - 2008 Nov 12
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 12010--12022
VI  - 28
IP  - 46
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/46/12010.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/46/12010.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2008 Nov 12; 28
AB  - 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, INα, 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.