HOMEODOMAIN PROTEIN AND CELL TYPE SPECIFICITY

目前的工作是一项总体努力的一部分，以确定 同源盒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 已经证明了大脑和脊髓的特定缺陷， 当同源异型盒基因被破坏时，非神经元组织的数量 在发展过程中。 虽然同源异型盒导致的中枢神经系统缺陷 破裂通常是根据特定的解剖结构来描述的， 结构或大脑区域，缺陷最终必须驻留在 个体神经元表型的改变，并且进一步，导致 是由特定结构基因的表达改变引起的。 同源框 基因通常被认为是发育基因。 然而，一些 持续表达到成年期，因此推测， 它们具有维持神经元结构完整性的作用， 连接或功能。 我们使用无脊椎动物模型来测试 不同模式的同源结构域基因表达的影响 确定胚胎发生的时间，并用电池监测变化 细胞特异性标记。我们希望确定细胞类型是否 改变，以及是否有其他影响神经元的形成， 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.