Modular patterning of structure and function of the striatum by retinoid receptor signaling.

Retinoid signaling plays a crucial role in patterning rhombomeres in the hindbrain and motor neurons in the spinal cord during development. A fundamentally interesting question is whether retinoids can pattern functional organization in the forebrain that generates a high order of cognitive behavior. The striatum contains a compartmental structure of striosome (or "patch") and intervening matrix.

Differential expression of RARbeta isoforms in the mouse striatum during development: a gradient of RARbeta2 expression along the rostrocaudal axis.

The retinoic acid receptor RARbeta is highly expressed in the striatum of the ventral telencephalon. We studied the expression pattern of different RARbeta isoforms in the developing mouse striatum by in situ hybridization. We found a differential ontogeny of RARbeta2 and RARbeta1/3 in embryonic day (E) 13.

Retinoid signaling competence and RARbeta-mediated gene regulation in the developing mammalian telencephalon.

To study retinoid signaling in the developing telencephalon, we transfected a retinoid reporter gene into different regions of developing telencephalon. We found that the ventral telencephalon was more competent to retinoid signaling than the dorsal telencephalon. Moreover, among all retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs), RARbeta was strongly induced by retinoic acid in the ventral telencephalon, suggesting that RARbeta might be involved in retinoid signaling competence.

Identification of a developmentally regulated striatum-enriched zinc-finger gene, Nolz-1, in the mammalian brain.

Neural information processed through the striatum of the basal ganglia is crucial for sensorimotor and psychomotor functions. Genes that are highly expressed in the striatum during development may be involved in neural development and plasticity in the striatum. We report in the present study the identification of a previously uncharacterized mammalian member of the nocA/elB/tlp-1 family, Nolz-1, that is preferentially expressed at high levels in the developing striatum.