SPATIOTEMPORAL EXPRESSION PATTERNS OF CHICKEN OVALBUMIN UPSTREAM PROMOTER-TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPING MOUSE CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM - EVIDENCE FOR A ROLE IN SEGMENTAL PATTERNING OF THE DIENCEPHALON

Chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factor (COUP-TF) gen es encode transcription factors belonging to the orphan subfamily of t he steroid/thyroid hormone receptor superfamily. Two COUP-TF counterpa rts have been cloned from mouse. In an attempt to study the function o f these genes in the developing central nervous system (CNS), the spat iotemporal expression patterns of the two mouse genes have been examin ed by in situ hybridization. Both genes are widely expressed in the de veloping CNS, with patterns that are overlapping yet distinct from eac h other. The differential expression of murine COUP-TFI and -II in the diencephalon is striking in that high levels of expression from each gene are confined to specific segmental compartments-the neuromeres. O ur results suggest that murine COUP-TFs may play important roles in th e development and differentiation of the CNS, including the specificat ion of diencephalic neuromeres.