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Figure 1 | Neural Development

Figure 1

From: Dicer is required for neural stem cell multipotency and lineage progression during cerebral cortex development

Figure 1

Cortex specific knockout of Dicer results in an increase in Tbr1+ neurons and a near absence of other neuronal classes. (A) Microarray analysis of the expression in the E13.5 Dicer null cortex of the 40 most abundant miRNAs in the wild-type E13.5 cortex identifies three groups of miRNAs, based on relative change in expression. Approximately half of the miRNAs are reduced to <20% of wild-type levels, but one-quarter show minor changes in levels. (B) Overview of the different classes of projection neurons, the cortical layers they occupy and the transcription factors used to identify them. (C-L) Representative immunofluorescence images for transcription factors that are differentially expressed in laminar/projection neuron types in the neonatal (P0) cortex. Immunostaining was performed on matched sections from three Dicer null and three control littermate embryos. (D) Progenitor cells lacking Dicer maintain the ability to generate Reelin+, layer 1 neurons. (D-F) The Dicer null cortex contains much larger numbers of layer 6 Tbr1+ (D) and FoxP2 neurons (E), but lacks Nurr1+ subplate/layer 6A neurons (F). (F-H) There was a severe reduction in layer 5, subcerebral projection neurons expressing ER81 (G) or CTIP2 (H). Notably almost all of the few remaining CTIP2 expressing neurons also co-expressed Tbr1 (arrows), with very few CTIP2+/Tbr1- cells present (asterisk) in the Dicer null cortex (I). Layers 2 to 4 callosal projection neurons expressing Brn2 (J), Cux1 (K) or Satb2 (L) were markedly decreased in the Dicer null cortex. CPNs, callosal projection neurons. Scale bars: 50 μm.

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