Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) regulate critical events during development. In complex tissues, such as the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), networks likely provide the complex regulatory interactions needed to direct the specification of the many CNS cell types. Here, we dissect a GRN that regulates a binary fate decision between two siblings in the murine retina, the rod photoreceptor...

In the vertebrate head, central and peripheral components of the sensory nervous system have different embryonic origins, the neural plate and sensory placodes. This raises the question of how they develop in register to form functional sense organs and sensory circuits. Here we show that mutual repression between the homeobox transcription factors Gbx2 and Otx2 patterns the placode territory b...

In the last decade, a number of genes related to the induction, specification and regionalization of the brain were isolated and their functional properties currently are being dissected. Among these, Otx1 and Otx2 play a pivotal role in several processes of brain morphogenesis. Findings from several groups now confirm the importance of Otx2 in the early specification of neuroectoderm destined ...

We examined whether Gbx2 is required after embryonic day 9 (E9) to repress Otx2 in the cerebellar anlage and position the midbrain/hindbrain organizer. In contrast to Gbx2 null mutants, mice lacking Gbx2 in rhombomere 1 (r1) after E9 (Gbx2-CKO) are viable and develop a cerebellum. A Gbx2-independent pathway can repress Otx2 in r1 after E9. Mid/hindbrain organizer gene expression, however, conti...

OTX Homeobox genes are involved in embryonic morphogenesis and in the development of olfactory epithelium in adult. Mutations occurring in the OTX genes are reported to be associated to tumorigenisis in human. No reports correlate the expression of OTX genes and neoplasms of the nasal cavity. Thus, through immunohistochemical and Real-time PCR analysis we investigated OTX1 and OTX2 expression i...

Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the role of miR-206 in propofol induced protective effects in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury and to explore its possible mechanism. Methods: Hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) model of mouse motoneuron-like cell line NSC-43 was established, and the expression miR-206 upon propofol treatment was analyzed by Realtime PCR. Cells were transfected with mi...

Mutations in the transcription factors PROP1 and PIT1 (POU1F1) lead to pituitary hormone deficiency and hypopituitarism in mice and humans. The dysmorphology of developing Prop1 mutant pituitaries readily distinguishes them from those of Pit1 mutants and normal mice. This and other features suggest that Prop1 controls the expression of genes besides Pit1 that are important for pituitary cell mi...

Otx2 expression in the forebrain and midbrain was found to be regulated by two distinct enhancers (FM and FM2) located at 75 kb 5' upstream and 115 kb 3' downstream. The activities of these two enhancers were absent in anterior neuroectoderm earlier than E8.0; however, at E9.5 their regions of activity spanned the entire mesencephalon and diencephalon with their caudal limits at the boundary wi...

molecular mechanism(s) of the regulation of Otx2 expression remains to be elucidated. We previously identified the cis-element that drives Otx2 expression in the forebrain and midbrain from E8.5, termed FM enhancer. In this study, we showed that the 157-bp core sequence in the FM enhancer was sufficient for the activation of reporter gene expression in the forebrain and midbrain. The core seque...