title: The Expression of Tubb2b Undergoes a Developmental Transition in Murine Cortical Neurons.
abstract: The development of the mammalian brain requires the generation, migration, and differentiation of neurons, cellular processes that are dependent on a dynamic microtubule cytoskeleton. Mutations in tubulin genes, which encode for the structural subunits of microtubules, cause detrimental neurological disorders known as the tubulinopathies. The disease spectra associated with different tubulin genes are overlapping but distinct, an observation believed to reflect functional specification of this multigene family. Perturbation of the β-tubulin TUBB2B is known to cause polymicrogyria, pachygyria, microcephaly, and axon guidance defects. Here we provide a detailed analysis of the expression pattern of its murine homolog Tubb2b. The generation and characterization of BAC-transgenic eGFP reporter mouse lines has revealed that it is highly expressed in progenitors and postmitotic neurons during cortical development. This contrasts with the 8-week-old cortex, in which Tubb2b expression is restricted to macroglia, and expression is almost completely absent in mature neurons. This developmental transition in neurons is mirrored in the adult hippocampus and the cerebellum but is not a universal feature of Tubb2b; its expression persists in a population of postmitotic neurons in the 8-week-old retina. We propose that the dynamic spatial and temporal expression of Tubb2b reflects specific functional requirements of the microtubule cytoskeleton.
authors.affiliation: IMP-Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Breuss
authors.affiliation: IMP-Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Jasmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morandell
authors.affiliation: IMP-Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nimpf
authors.affiliation: IMP-Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gstrein
authors.affiliation: IMP-Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Mattias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lauwers
authors.affiliation: IMP-Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hochstoeger
authors.affiliation: IMP-Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, 1030, Austria.|Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.affiliation: Medical Scientist Training Program, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, New York, 11794.
authors.forename: Kelvin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Advanced Microscopy, Campus Science Support Facilities (CSF), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Edmundo R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Sánchez Guajardo
authors.affiliation: Advanced Microscopy, Campus Science Support Facilities (CSF), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Virchow Center, DFG-Research Center for Experimental Biomedicine of the University of Würzburg, Würzburg, 97080, Germany.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suplata
authors.affiliation: Rudolf Virchow Center, DFG-Research Center for Experimental Biomedicine of the University of Würzburg, Würzburg, 97080, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Heinze
authors.affiliation: Advanced Microscopy, Campus Science Support Facilities (CSF), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Kareem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Elsayad
authors.affiliation: IMP-Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna Biocenter (VBC), Vienna, 1030, Austria.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Keays
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003051:Cochlea / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012160:Retina / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D014404:Tubulin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C000607642:Tubb2b protein, mouse; D014404:Tubulin; C485184:enhanced green fluorescent protein; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins
keywords: AB_10048713; AB_10615604; AB_2068336; AB_2088494; AB_2170714; AB_2286684; AB_2314535; AB_303395; AB_310177; AB_442102; AB_570666; AB_778267; GFP-reporter line; developing cortex; glia; microtubules; neuronal migration; tubulinopathies