Abstract
The Dlx genes play an important role in the differentiation and migration of
gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) interneurons of mice. GABAergic interneurons
are born in the proliferative zones of the ventral telencephalon and migrate to the
cortex early during mouse development. Single Dlx mutant mice show only subtle
phenotypes. However, the migration of immature interneurons is blocked in the
ventral telencephalon of Dlx1/Dlx2 double mutant mice leading to reduction of
GABAergic interneurons in the cortex. Also, Dlx5/Dlx6 expression is almost entirely
absent in the forebrain, most probably due to cross-regulatory mechanisms.
In zebrafish, the role of dlx genes in GABAergic interneuron development is
unknown. By injecting Morpholino, we double knocked down dlx1 and dlx2 genes in
wildtype zebrafish to investigate the function of the two genes in zebrafish
GABAergic interneuron development. By comparing different subsets of GABAergic
interneuron development in wildtype and dlx1/2 morphant zebrafish forebrain, we
found out that at 3dpf, 4dpf and 7dpf, double knockdown of dlx1 and dlx2 genes in
zebrafish remarkably reduced the number of Calbindin-, Somatostatin- and
Parvalbumin-positive GABAergic neurons, whereas the development of
Calretinin-positive neurons is slightly affected. These results suggest that in zebrafish,
dlx1a and dlx2a genes are important for the development of certain subtypes of
GABAergic interneurons (Calbindin-, Somatostatin- and Parvalbumin-positive
neurons) and may have minor influence on Calretinin-positive neuron development.
This also suggests that different regulatory mechanisms are involved in the
development of the different subtypes of GABAergic interneurons.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OOU-OLD./19970 |
| Date | 09 May 2011 |
| Creators | Ma, Wenqian |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thèse / Thesis |
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