title: Tissue-specific regulation and function of Grb10 during growth and neuronal commitment.
abstract: Growth-factor receptor bound protein 10 (Grb10) is a signal adapter protein encoded by an imprinted gene that has roles in growth control, cellular proliferation, and insulin signaling. Additionally, Grb10 is critical for the normal behavior of the adult mouse. These functions are paralleled by Grb10's unique tissue-specific imprinted expression; the paternal copy of Grb10 is expressed in a subset of neurons whereas the maternal copy is expressed in most other adult tissues in the mouse. The mechanism that underlies this switch between maternal and paternal expression is still unclear, as is the role for paternally expressed Grb10 in neurons. Here, we review recent work and present complementary data that contribute to the understanding of Grb10 gene regulation and function, with specific emphasis on growth and neuronal development. Additionally, we show that in vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into alpha motor neurons recapitulates the switch from maternal to paternal expression observed during neuronal development in vivo. We postulate that this switch in allele-specific expression is related to the functional role of Grb10 in motor neurons and other neuronal tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
authors.forename: Robert N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Plasschaert
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 bartolom@mail.med.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Marisa S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Bartolomei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D051383:GRB10 Adaptor Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D018392:Genomic Imprinting / Q000235:genetics; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C495959:Grb10 protein, mouse; D051383:GRB10 Adaptor Protein
keywords: Grb10; epigenetics; genomic imprinting; motor neurons; neurodevelopment