Multiple patterns of spatiotemporal changes in layer-specific gene expression in the developing visual cortex of higher mammals
Abstract
The mammalian cerebral cortex, which is stratified into six layers, has functional domains that vertically span the six layers, thereby requiring tight interlaminar connectivity within a domain. The synaptic connections in individual layers are first broadly formed under predetermined programs and later reinforced between neurons which reside in the same functional domain via experience-dependent reorganization during the critical period. However, the molecular mechanisms that control these two processes within each layer are still unclear. Therefore, we performed a differential screen for candidates and found seven genes with layer-specific expression during postnatal development of cat visual cortex. APLP1, a transmembrane protein mediating synaptogenesis, started dual-layer expression in layers 2/3 and 5 before the critical period, suggesting that it might execute coarse synapse formation of these layers. STMN2 (SCG10), which promotes microtubule turnover, was unique, as it dramatically shifted its dual-layer distribution from layers 2/3 and 5 to the deeper layers 4 and 6 at the onset of the critical period; it lost this new expression pattern in the adult. Surprisingly, brief dark rearing disturbed the shift in its dual-lay...Continue Reading
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