Authors: HUBER, K.; ERNSBERGER, AND U.

Source: Gene Expression, Volume 13, Number 2, 2006 , pp. 133-139(7)

Publisher: Cognizant Communication Corporation

Abstract:

The generation of neurotransmitter identity in the autonomic nervous system is a classical model system to study the development of neuronal diversity. Analysis of the expression of genes coding for enzymes of noradrenaline biosynthesis in the sympathoadrenal system allowed the characterization of factors involved in the differentiation of the noradrenergic transmitter phenotype. The development of cholinergic properties in the autonomic system is less well understood. Here we show that expression of mRNAs for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), both encoded by the cholinergic gene locus, is induced in mouse sympathetic ganglia at embryonic day 11 (E11). Positive cells amount to more than 50% of Phox2b-positive sympathetic cells at cervical levels. The proportion declines caudally, decreasing to ∼20% of Phox2b-positive cells at lower thoracic levels. In the adrenal anlage, ChAT and VAChT mRNA are largely undetectable at E11 and E13. In mice homozygous for a mutational inactivation of the transcription factor Phox2b, ChAT and VAChT mRNA expression is absent from sympathetic ganglia. The data show that expression from the cholinergic gene locus is regulated differently in sympathetic neurons and adrenal chromaffin cells. Phox2b is required for development of cholinergic neurons but does not suffice to support cholinergic properties in chromaffin cells.

Keywords: Sympathetic neuron; Adrenal chromaffin cell; Choline acetyltransferase; Vesicular acetylcholine transporter; Phox2b mutant; Development

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Institut für Anatomie und Zellbiologie III, Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Neurowissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

Publication date: 2006-02-01

More about this publication?

• The Molecular and Cellular Biology area of Gene Expression covers all aspects of the gene including it structure, functions, and regulation in prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and viruses; molecular and cell biological aspects of cell growth and development, chromatin structure and function. These include topics such as DNA replication, DNA repair, gene transcription, transcriptional control, RNA processing, posttranscriptional control, oncogenes, molecular mechanisms of action of hormones, molecular mechanism of cellular differentiation, growth and development, protein synthesis, and posttranslational control.
  The Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience area of Gene Expression covers all aspects of gene expression as described but is devoted exclusively to the nervous system in health and disease. Topics include studies of neurogenesis, development, aging, and neurodegeneration. Complex neural systems, motor control, special senses, and higher cortical function, when viewed from the perspective of gene expression, are appropriate for the journal. Research related to molecular mechanisms of drug tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal are solicited. Manuscripts on state-of-the-art methods and protocols for molecular profiling of neuronal structure and function are welcome.

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