title: Expression of the death-associated gene RP-8 in granule cell neurons undergoing postnatal cell death in the cerebellum of weaver mice.
abstract: RP-8 is one of several mRNAs elevated during apoptosis in immature thymocytes. We used in situ hybridization to look for RP-8 mRNA in the cerebella of weaver mice. In the weaver mouse cerebellar granule cells fail to differentiate and instead die during the first two weeks of postnatal development [30]. We demonstrate that the dying cells exhibit DNA degradation, a characteristic feature of apoptosis. RP-8 is expressed in the weaver cerebellum during the period of granule cell death, and is limited to cells in the same region where apoptotic granule cells are located. Thus, RP-8 expression, first associated with PCD in thymocytes, correlates with granule cell death in the weaver cerebellum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver 80262, USA.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Owens
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Mahalik
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Hahn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D015870:Gene Expression; D005796:Genes; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D051379:Mice; D008818:Mice, Neurologic Mutants; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D012333:RNA, Messenger