Imprint switching on human chromosome 15 may involve alternative transcripts of the SNRPN gene
Imprinting on human chromosome 15 is regulated by an imprinting centre, which has been mapped to a 100–kb region including exon 1 of SNRPN. From this region we have identified novel transcripts, which represent alternative transcripts of the SNRPN gene. The novel exons lack protein coding potential and are expressed from the paternal chromosome only. We have also identified intragenic deletions and a point mutation in patients who have Angelman or Prader–Willi syndrome due to a parental imprint switch failure. This suggests that imprint switching on human chromosome 15 may involve alternative SNRPN transcripts.
Radial Glial Fibers Promote Neuronal Migration and Functional Recovery after Neonatal Brain Injury.
Radial glia (RG) are embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs) that produce neuroblasts and provide fibers that act as a scaffold for neuroblast migration during embryonic development. Although they normally disappear soon after birth, here we found that RG fibers can persist in injured neonatal mouse brains and act as a scaffold for postnatal ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ)-derived neuroblasts that migrate to the lesion site. This injury-induced maintenance of RG fibers has a limited time window during post-natal development and promotes directional saltatory movement of neuroblasts via N-cadherin-mediated cell-cell contacts that promote RhoA activation. Transplanting an N-cadherin-contai…