Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026
Modeling Human Cerebellar Development In Vitro in 2D Structure
Published on: September 16, 2022
Cadherin-6 gene regulatory patterns in the postnatal mouse brain
Yukiko U Inoue1, Junko Asami, Takayoshi Inoue
1Department of Biochemistry and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Ogawahigashi 4-1-1, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8502, Japan.
Cadherin-6 (Cdh6, K-cadherin) is a synaptic adhesion molecule the expression of which demarcates restricted sets of neuronal circuitries in postnatal mouse brains. While roles for the cadherins in the formation and/or modulation of synaptic junctions have been implicated, that which drives cadherin expression along functional brain circuits has remained elusive. Here we investigate the genetic control of Cdh6 expression by applying a method that permits systematic integration of a reporter cassette into bacterial artificial chromosomes with extensive coverage of the huge Cdh6 gene locus, whereby the reporter activities are efficiently evaluated in stable transgenic mouse lines. Such screenings revealed that divisible genomic segments differentially control each brain region or nucleus specific expression of Cdh6 at the right phases for circuit formation. These separable regulatory modules for cadherin expressions tended to be grouped by working connectivities, suggesting their developmental and/or evolutional value in elaborating brain circuitry.
Cadherin-6 (Cdh6, K-cadherin) is a synaptic adhesion molecule the expression of which demarcates restricted sets of neuronal circuitries in postnatal mouse brains. While roles for the cadherins in the formation and/or modulation of synaptic junctions have been implicated, that which drives cadherin expression along functional brain circuits has remained elusive. Here we investigate the genetic control of Cdh6 expression by applying a method that permits systematic integration of a reporter cassette into bacterial artificial chromosomes with extensive coverage of the huge Cdh6 gene locus, whereby the reporter activities are efficiently evaluated in stable transgenic mouse lines. Such screenings revealed that divisible genomic segments differentially control each brain region or nucleus specific expression of Cdh6 at the right phases for circuit formation. These separable regulatory modules for cadherin expressions tended to be grouped by working connectivities, suggesting their developmental and/or evolutional value in elaborating brain circuitry.
