Cell-autonomous alterations in dendritic arbor morphology and connectivity induced by overexpression of MeCP2 in Xenopus central neurons in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Methyl CpG binding protein-2 (MeCP2) is an essential epigenetic regulator in human brain development. Mutations in the MeCP2 gene have been linked to Rett syndrome, a severe X-linked progressive neurodevelopmental disorder, and one of the most common causes of mental retardation in females. MeCP2 duplication and triplication have also been found to affect brain development, indicating that both loss of function and gain in MeCP2 dosage lead to similar neurological phenotypes. Here, we used the Xenopus laevis visual system as an in vivo model to examine the consequence of increased MeCP2 expression during the morphological maturation of individual central neurons in an otherwise intact brain. Single-cell overexpression of wild-type human MeCP2 was combined with time-lapse confocal microscop

SUBMITTER: Marshak S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3302857 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature