Expression patterns of chick Musashi-1 in the developing nervous system

• Published in: Gene Expression Patterns Vol. 7; no. 7; pp. 817 - 825
• Main Authors: Wilson, Jonathan M., Sato, Kazuna, Chernoff, Ellen A.G., Belecky-Adams, Teri L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.08.2007
• Subjects: Animals; Cell Proliferation; Chick; Chick Embryo; Computational Biology; Eye - embryology; Eye Proteins - biosynthesis; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Msi-1; Musashi; Nerve Tissue Proteins - biosynthesis; Nervous System - embryology; Neural tube; Neurons; Neurons - metabolism; Notch; nrp1; Optic cup; Receptors, Notch - metabolism; Repressor Proteins - biosynthesis; Retina; Retina - metabolism; Signal Transduction; Stem cells; Stem Cells - metabolism; Time Factors; Neural tube; Msi-1; Neurons; nrp1; Musashi; Notch; Stem cells; Retina; Chick; Optic cup
• ISSN: 1567-133X; 1872-7298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.modgep.2007.04.001

Vertebrate homologues of musashi have recently been referred to as neural stem cell markers because of their expression patterns and RNA-binding interactions. In the context of the notch signaling pathway, Musashi-1 (Msi-1) is a regulator of neural cell generation, cooperating with notch to maintain mitosis. In an effort to identify definitive stem cell markers of the neural retina, a portion of the Msi-1 cDNA was cloned, and the expression of Msi-1 in the chick eye was analyzed. Using an Msi-1-specific antibody and RNA probe, we show that expression of Msi-1 in the early neural tube is consistent with neural stem identity. In the neural retina, expression starts shortly before embryonic day 3 (E3) and continues up to and including E18. A BrdU incorporation assay shows Msi-1 to be found in both proliferating and differentiating cells of E5 neural retina. At E8 (when proliferation is complete in the fundus of the retina) and E18 (mature retina) Msi-1 expression was found in the ciliary marginal zone (CMZ) as well as in a subpopulation of differentiated cells, including photoreceptors and ganglion cells.