title: EphA4 is not required for Purkinje cell compartmentation.
abstract: The Purkinje cells of both the adult and the developing cerebellar cortex are organized into parasagittal stripes or 'segments' expressing a variety of biochemical markers. We show that in the developing mouse cerebellar cortex, members of the Eph receptor gene family are expressed in mediolaterally alternating Purkinje cell segments. Since members of the Eph receptors family have been shown to play a role in hindbrain segmentation and boundary formation (Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B: Biol. Sci. 355 (2000) 993), we analyzed the effect of a null mutation of the EphA4 gene on Purkinje cell compartmentation. Using well characterized markers of Purkinje cell compartmentation in both the developing and the adult cerebellum, we observed no significant alteration in the banding pattern of these markers between the EphA4 knockout mice and their wild type controls. The ribboned pattern of migrating granule cells in the developing cerebellum also appears unaltered. The expression of other members of this gene family, including ephrin-B2, EphA2, and ephrin-A1, in a compartmentalized pattern within the Purkinje cell layer suggests a possible redundancy and/or a compensation of EphA4 function in the segmental patterning of cerebellar Purkinje cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, P.O. Box 357290, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Sana D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Karam
authors.forename: Mirella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dottori
authors.forename: Kazushige
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Jeffery T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: Andrew W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: Elena B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Pasquale
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bothwell
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000378:metabolism; D002451:Cell Compartmentation / Q000502:physiology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D036382:Ephrin-A1; D036383:Ephrin-A2; D036388:Ephrin-B2; D005326:Fetal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout / Q000235:genetics; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D036122:Receptor, EphA4; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D036382:Ephrin-A1; D036383:Ephrin-A2; D036388:Ephrin-B2; D005326:Fetal Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D036122:Receptor, EphA4