Genome-wide atlas of gene expression in the adult mouse brain

Abstract

Molecular approaches to understanding the functional circuitry of the nervous system promise new insights into the relationship between genes, brain and behaviour. The cellular diversity of the brain necessitates a cellular resolution approach towards understanding the functional genomics of the nervous system. We describe here an anatomically comprehensive digital atlas containing the expression patterns of approximately 20,000 genes in the adult mouse brain. Data were generated using automated high-throughput procedures for in situ hybridization and data acquisition, and are publicly accessible online. Newly developed image-based informatics tools allow global genome-scale structural analysis and cross-correlation, as well as identification of regionally enriched genes. Unbiased fine-resolution analysis has identified highly specific cellular markers as well as extensive evidence of cellular heterogeneity not evident in classical neuroanatomical atlases. This highly standardized atlas provides an open, primary data resource for a wide variety of further studies concerning brain organization and function.

Hypoxia-Inducible Factor Prolyl Hydroxylase Inhibition: Robust New Target or Another Big Bust for Stroke Therapeutics?

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Besides Purkinje cells and granule neurons: an appraisal of the cell biology of the interneurons of the cerebellar cortex

“…As the vesicular transporter VGAT/VIAAT is nonselective for GABA or glycine (which compete for it; Chaudhry et al 1998;Wojcik et al 2006), such a scenario would imply diVerential sorting and/ or membrane availability of membrane transporters for glycine and GABA. Indeed, there is a growing body of evidence that points to an intricate regulation of the sorting and membrane insertion of Glyt2, Gat-1, and Gat-2 (e.g., Muth et al 1998;Martinez-Maza et al 2001;Farhan et al 2008; see also Chiu et al 2002), which are expressed in large molecular layer interneurons of the cerebellum (cf the Allen Brain Atlas; Lein et al 2007). Intriguingly, Gat-2 is subject to regulation by serotonin; as mentioned above, Lugaro cells are the primary target of serotoninergic projections to the cerebellar cortex (Dieudonne and Dumoulin 2000).…”

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