Transcription profiling by array of rat cortex regions
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ABSTRACT: The neocortex of the mammalian brain is comprised by six distinct layers with neuronal subtypes that appear indistinguishable from one cortical area to the next. Correspondingly, global gene expression seems to be almost identical across the cerebral cortex and only a few genes have so far been reported to show regional enrichment in specific cortical areas. In the present study on adult rat brain, we have corroborated the strikingly similar gene expression among cortical areas. However, differential expression analysis has allowed for the identification of 30, 24 and 11 genes enriched in frontomedial -, temporal- or occipital cortex, respectively. A large proportion of these 65 genes appear to be involved in signal transduction, including the ion channel Fxyd6, the neuropeptide Grp and the nuclear receptor Rorb. We also find that the majority of these genes display increased expression levels around birth and show distinct preferences for certain cortical layers and cell types in rodents. Since specific patterns of expression often are linked to equally specialised biological functions, we propose that these cortex sub-region enriched genes are important for proper functioning of the cortical regions in question and may represent interesting candidates for further genetic studies of neuropsychiatric phenotypes.
ORGANISM(S): Rattus norvegicus
SUBMITTER: Christine Stansberg
PROVIDER: E-TABM-1019 | biostudies-arrayexpress |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress
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