METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING PURKINJE CELLS USING THE Corl2 GENE AS A TARGET

摘要

Total RNAs were prepared from the ventral and dorsal regions of embryonic day 12.5 mouse mesencephalon, and a cDNA fragment was obtained by the subtraction method (N-RDA). The full-length cDNA was cloned and the nucleotide sequence was determined. The gene was named Corl2. The result of homology search showed that about 850 residues of Corl2 exhibited homology to the XM_355050 sequence deposited in GenBank; however, the remaining ~150 residues showed no homology. Thus, Corl2 was demonstrated to be a novel gene. The Corl2 expression in various mouse organs was analyzed by RT-PCR, and the result showed that Corl2 expression was specific to brain. The result of immunostaining day 12.5 embryos and postnatal day 12 brains demonstrated that Corl2 is useful as a Purkinje cell marker at any differentiation stages.