Detailed expression pattern of aldolase C (Aldoc) in the cerebellum, retina and other areas of the CNS studied in Aldoc-Venus knock-in mice.
Aldolase C (Aldoc, also known as "zebrin II"), a brain type isozyme of a glycolysis enzyme, is expressed heterogeneously in subpopulations of cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) that are arranged longitudinally in a complex striped pattern in the cerebellar cortex, a pattern which is closely related to the topography of input and output axonal projections. Here, we generated knock-in Aldoc-Venus mice in which Aldoc expression is visualized by expression of a fluorescent protein, Venus. Since there was no obvious phenotypes in general brain morphology and in the striped pattern of the cerebellum in mutants, we made detailed observation of Aldoc expression pattern in the nervous system by using Venus expression in Aldoc-Venus heterozygotes. High levels of Venus expression were observed in cerebellar PCs, cartwheel cells in the dorsal cochlear nucleus, sensory epithelium of the inner ear and in all major types of retinal cells, while moderate levels of Venus expression were observed in astrocytes and satellite cells in the dorsal root ganglion. The striped arrangement of PCs that express Venus to different degrees was carefully traced with serial section alignment analysis and mapped on the unfolded scheme of the entire cerebellar cortex to re-identify all individual Aldoc stripes. A longitudinally striped boundary of Aldoc expression was first identified in the mouse flocculus, and was correlated with the climbing fiber projection pattern and expression of another compartmental marker molecule, heat shock protein 25 (HSP25). As in the rat, the cerebellar nuclei were divided into the rostrodorsal negative and the caudoventral positive portions by distinct projections of Aldoc-positive and negative PC axons in the mouse. Identification of the cerebellar Aldoc stripes in this study, as indicated in sample coronal and horizontal sections as well as in sample surface photos of whole-mount preparations, can be referred to in future experiments.
Department of Systems Neurophysiology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan ; Systems Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, United States of America ; Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Hirofumi
H
Fujita
Department of Systems Neurophysiology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Hanako
H
Aoki
Center for Brain Integration Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Itsuki
I
Ajioka
Department of Cellular Neurobiology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Maya
M
Yamazaki
Department of Cellular Neurobiology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Manabu
M
Abe
Molecular Neuroimaging Program, Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan.
Arata
A
Oh-Nishi
Department of Cellular Neurobiology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Kenji
K
Sakimura
Department of Systems Neurophysiology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan ; Center for Brain Integration Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Izumi
I
Sugihara
D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D017626:Cochlear Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D055879:Gene Knock-In Techniques; D006579:Heterozygote; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; C054562:yellow fluorescent protein, Bacteria; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase