Age and dark rearing bidirectionally regulate the level and laminar pattern of expression of Abelson interacting protein 2 (Abi-2): a novel candidate visual cortical plasticity gene.

ABSTRACT: Electrophysiological studies indicate that cat visual cortical critical period neuronal plasticity peaks around 5 weeks and largely disappears by 20 weeks. Dark rearing slows this time course. Normal cats are more plastic than dark-reared cats at 5 weeks, but the opposite is true at 20 weeks. Thus, a stringent criterion for identifying genes controlling neuronal plasticity is that normal and dark rearing produce opposite direction differences in expression between young and older animals. Differential display polymerase chain reaction identified Abelson interacting protein 2 (Abi-2) as a candidate plasticity gene regulated according to this criterion. Western blotting showed bidirectional regulation of Abi-2 protein levels in cats and mice that was specific to visual cortex and did not occ

SUBMITTER: Yang CB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3797860 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature