DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF LIM-HOMEODOMAIN GENES IN THE EMBRYONIC MURINE BRAIN

Homeobox-containing genes are associated with the control of various s tages in embryogenesis. LIM-homeodomain genes have been implicated in the control of differentiation of specific cell types in both neuronal and non-neuronal tissues, yet there have been few studies comparing t he expression domains of these genes in the developing brain of a sing le species, In the present study, we isolated murine LIM-homeodomain g enes (LH-2, lim-1, and L3) by reverse transcription-polymerase chain r eaction (RT-PCR) method and investigated their expression domains in t he embryonic brain by in situ hybridization analysis. These mRNAs show ed mutually exclusive expression patterns suggesting that these factor s may be involved in region-specific differentiation in the developing brain.