Vol 49, No 2 (2011)
Original paper
Published online: 2011-07-11
Expression of the transcription factor regulatory factor X1 in the mouse brain
DOI: 10.5603/FHC.2011.0047
Folia Histochem Cytobiol 2011;49(2):344-351.
Abstract
Limited information indicates that the regulatory factor X1 (RFX1), the prototype member of the
transcription factor RFX family, may play a role in the central nervous system. Our recent study showed that
knockout of the Rfx1 gene led to early embryonic death. In the present study, we showed that heterozygous
Rfx1+/– mice were fertile and grew normally. An abundant amount of RFX1 proteins were expressed in the
olfactory bulb, hippocampus and cerebral cortex as detected by b-galactosidase staining (the gene knockout
vector contained a coding region for b-galactosidase) and immunofluorescent staining with an anti-RFX1 antibody.
RFX1 positive immunostaining was mainly in the nuclei of neurons and microglial cells and was absent
from the astrocytes of mouse brains. The heterozygous Rfx1+/– mice expressed RFX1 mRNA and proteins at
a level similar to that in the wild-type mice in the olfactory bulb and hippocampus. The expression level of RFX1
proteins was similar in the brains of mice ranging from 15 day old embryos to four month old adults. Our results
suggest a significant expression of RFX1 proteins in the mammalian brain. This expression is cell-type and
brain-region specific and may take a random monoallelic expression pattern. (Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica
2011; Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 344–351)
Keywords: brainmicroglial cellsmouseneuronsregulatory factor X1
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