Conserved subcortical and divergent cortical expression of proteins encoded by orthologs of the autism risk gene MET.

ABSTRACT: Met receptor tyrosine kinase signaling regulates the growth and development of axons and may contribute to the wiring of cortical and limbic circuits in the rodent forebrain. Whether the orthologous MET receptor functions similarly in the developing primate forebrain is not known but is of considerable interest considering the association of variant MET alleles with social and communication phenotypes in autism. To begin addressing this question, we compared Met/MET protein expression in the developing mouse and rhesus macaque forebrain. There was a strong temporal conservation of expression during the time of rapid axon development and the onset of robust synapse formation. Expression patterns of Met/MET in limbic-related structures were almost identical between species. In marked contras

SUBMITTER: Judson MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3116738 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature