NCAM gene expression during the development of cerebellum and dentate gyrus in the mouse

The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is thought to be involved in several important events during CNS vertebrate development. This study provides additional information concerning the biochemical determination and anatomical localization of NCAM transcripts. Using S1 nuclease protection assays (S1-NPAs), NCAM transcripts in brain appear highest at birth, with NCAM messenger levels reduced some 20-fold by adulthood. By use of in situ hybridization, NCAM mRNA is demonstrated to be developmentally regulated in the cerebellum and hippocampus. The in situ hybridization findings, in addition to providing results to compare with past studies of NCAM immunolocalization, reveal that NCAM expression in dentate gyrus granule cells and cerebellar Purkinje cells is correlated with the final stages of axonal growth, e.g., synaptic stabilization. In situ hybridization demonstrates a developmental outside-to-inside gradient of NCAM transcripts in the dentate gyrus. Neurological mutant mice, reeler and stagger, provide evidence that NCAM expression is normal in the brain regions investigated, and does not correlate with the developmental perturbations present in these strains.