title: Expression pattern of the Rett syndrome gene MeCP2 in primate prefrontal cortex.
abstract: Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex may contribute to the autistic features and mental retardation of Rett syndrome, a neuropsychiatric condition caused by mutations of the gene encoding methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2). Because nothing is known about the expression of MeCP2 and other chromatin-associated factors in primate brain, we studied in monkey prefrontal cortex and murine cerebral cortex expression patterns of MeCP2 and of macrohistone H2A (MacroH2A), which like MeCP2 is associated with transcriptionally silent chromatin. In both species, MeCP2 and MacroH2A appeared to be ubiquitously expressed by cortical neurons, including projection neurons and GABAergic interneurons. In the adult monkey, MeCP2 expression was robust throughout all layers of the prefrontal cortex but it was limited in fetal monkeys at embryonic day 110 to the deeper cortical layers and the subplate. These results suggest that MeCP2 may be important for neuronal maintenance in the developing and in the mature primate prefrontal cortex, consistent with the previously reported phenotype of MeCP2-null mutant mice.
authors.affiliation: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA. akbarian@wi.mit.edu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akbarian
authors.forename: R Z
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gribnau
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jaenisch
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006657:Histones / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D051783:Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D009928:Organ Specificity; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D015518:Rett Syndrome / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D006657:Histones; C497392:MECP2 protein, human; C497393:Mecp2 protein, mouse; D051783:Methyl-CpG-Binding Protein 2; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C120756:macroH2A histone