title: Important Roles of Ring Finger Protein 112 in Embryonic Vascular Development and Brain Functions.
abstract: Rnf112 is a member of the RING finger protein family. The expression of Rnf112 is abundant in the brain and is regulated during brain development. Our previous study has revealed that Rnf112 can promote neuronal differentiation by inhibiting the progression of the cell cycle in cell models. In this study, we further revealed the important functions of Rnf112 in embryo development and in adult brain. Our data showed that most of the Rnf112-/-embryos exhibited blood vascular defects and died in utero. Upon further investigation, we found that the survival rate of homozygous Rnf112 knockout mice in 129/sv and C57BL/6 mixed genetic background was increased. The survived newborns of Rnf112-/-mice manifested growth retardation as indicated by smaller size and a reduced weight. Although the overall organization of the brain did not appear to be severely affected in Rnf112-/-mice, using in vivo 3D MRI imaging, we found that when compared to wild-type littermates, brains of Rnf112-/-mice were smaller. In addition, Rnf112-/-mice displayed impairment of brain functions including motor balance, and spatial learning and memory. Our results provide important aspects for the study of Rnf112 gene functions.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jen-Hui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Tsou
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science, College of Bioresources, National Ilan University, Ilan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ying-Chen
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ping-Chieh
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Pao
authors.affiliation: Department and Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hui-Ching
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.|Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Nai-Kuei
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shih-Ting
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuei-Sen
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Che-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuen-Haur
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan.|Department of Radiology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chu-Jen
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research and Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.|Institute of Biophotonics, School of Medical Technology and Engineering, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: De-Ming
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jiann-Her
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Chang
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Ph.D. Program for Neural Regenerative Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan. yclee@tmu.edu.tw.|Center for Neurotrauma and Neuroregeneration, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan. yclee@tmu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Yi-Chao
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3451-183X
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000196:embryology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C113383:ZNF179 protein, mouse
keywords: Brain finger protein; Growth retardation; Memory impairment; Rnf112; Znf179