In vivo analyses of morphologies of distinct neuronal subtypes in the developing striatum by in utero electroporation-mediated gene transfer method

不同神经元亚型获得独特的形态学特征是神经元网络形成和脑功能发展的基础。中棘神经元（Medium spiny neurons，MSNs）是纹状体中的主要投射神经元，由几种不同的神经元亚型组成，包括纹状体和基质MSNs，它们在纹状体发育的延长期由外侧神经节隆起（lateral ganglionic eminence，LGE）产生。尽管纹状体和基质MSN在控制运动和认知脑功能中发挥了独特的关键作用，但纹状体和基质MSN如何获得和保持其特征仍有待阐明。在这里，我们建立了一个系统，我们可以选择性地标记的纹状体或基质MSNs通过子宫内电穿孔介导的基因转移方法。以前的工作不能集中分析选择性的纹状体MSN，因为他们只占总MSN人口的不到10~ 15%。相比之下，我们的系统，使我们能够选择性地分析的方式纹状体MSNs在发展过程中获得他们的特征，并显示，他们获得成熟的形态特征，即使在出生后的早期发育的纹状体。

The acquisition of unique morphological characteristics by distinct neuronal subtypes underlies the development of neuronal network formation and brain functions. Medium spiny neurons(MSNs), that are principle projection neurons in the striatum, consist of several distinct neuronal subtypes, including the striosome and matrix MSNs that are generated from the lateral ganglionic eminence(LGE) during the protracted period of striatum development. Despite crucial roles played distinctively by the striosome and matrix MSNs in the control of motor and cognitive brain functions, how the striosome and matrix MSN acquire and maintain their characteristic features remains to be elucidated. Here, we established a system where we can selectively label either the striosome or matrix MSNs by employing in utero electroporation-mediated gene transfer methods. Previous works were not able to focus the analyses selectively on the striosome MSNs, because they comprise only less than 10~ 15% of total MSN population. Our system, in contrast, enabled us to analyze selectively the way striosome MSNs acquire their characteristic features during development, and revealed that they acquire the matured morphological features even at the early postnatal development of the striatum.