HOMEODOMAIN PROTEIN AND CELL TYPE SPECIFICITY

目前的工作是确定以下方面作用的总体努力的一部分 同源框基因在神经元发育和维持中的作用 中枢神经系统的特异性。越来越多的研究 在大脑和脊髓中表现出特定的缺陷，在 同源异型盒基因被破坏时的非神经元组织的数量 在开发过程中。尽管由同源异型盒引起的中枢神经系统缺陷 破坏通常是用特定的解剖学术语描述的 结构或大脑区域，缺陷最终必须驻留在 单个神经元表型的改变，并进一步导致 通过改变特定结构基因的表达。同源盒 基因通常被认为是发育基因。尽管如此，一些人 持续表达到成年，因此推测 它们在维持神经元结构的完整性方面发挥了作用， 连接性或功能。我们使用无脊椎动物模型来测试 不同同源结构域基因表达模式在不同发育阶段的作用 确定胚胎发育的时间，并用电池监测变化 细胞特异性标记物。我们希望确定细胞类型是否为 改变，以及是否对神经元的形成有其他影响 电路。

The present work is part of a general effort to determine the role of homeobox genes in the development and maintenance of neuronal specificity in the central nervous system. A growing number of studies have demonstrated specific defects in brain and spinal cord, and in a number of non-neuronal tissues, when homeobox genes have been disrupted during development. Although the CNS defects resulting from homeobox disruption are typically described in terms of particular anatomical structures or brain regions, the defects must ultimately reside in alterations of the phenotype of individual neurons, and further, result from the altered expression of particular structural genes. Homeobox genes are commonly regarded as developmental genes. Nonetheless, some continue expression into adulthood, and it is therefore speculated that they have a role in maintaining the integrity of neuronal structure, connectivity, or function. We use invertebrate models to test the effects of different patterns of homeodomain gene expression during defined times of embryogenesis and monitor the changes with a battery of cell-specific markers. We wish to determine whether cell types are altered, and whether there are other effects on formation of neuronal circuits.