Research article

Teneurin-1 is expressed in interconnected regions of the developing brain and is processed in vivo

Daniela Kenzelmann^{* 1} , Ruth Chiquet-Ehrismann¹ , Nathaniel T Leachman² and Richard P Tucker²

¹Friedrich Miescher Institute, Novartis Research Foundation, Maulbeerstr. 66, 4057 Basel, Switzerland

²School of Medicine, 1 Shields Avenue, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616-8643, USA

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

BMC Developmental Biology 2008, 8:30doi:10.1186/1471-213X-8-30

Published:	25 March 2008

Abstract

Background

Teneurins are a unique family of transmembrane proteins conserved from C. elegans and D. melanogaster to mammals. In vertebrates there are four paralogs (teneurin-1 to -4), all of which are expressed prominently in the developing central nervous system.

Results

Analysis of teneurin-1 expression in the developing chick brain by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry defined a unique, distinct expression pattern in interconnected regions of the brain. Moreover we found complementary patterns of teneurin-1 and-2 expression in many parts of the brain, including the retina, optic tectum, olfactory bulb, and cerebellum as well as in brain nuclei involved in processing of sensory information. Based on these expression patterns, we suspect a role for teneurins in neuronal connectivity.

In contrast to the cell-surface staining of the antibody against the extracellular domain, an antibody recognizing the intracellular domain revealed nuclear staining in subpopulations of neurons and in undifferentiated mesenchyme. Western blot analysis of brain lysates showed the presence of N-terminal fragments of teneurin-1 containing the intracellular domain indicating that proteolytic processing occurs. Finally, the teneurin-1 intracellular domain was found to contain a nuclear localization signal, which is required for nuclear localization in transfected cells.

Conclusion

Teneurin-1 and -2 are expressed by distinct interconnected populations of neurons in the developing central nervous system. Our data support the hypothesis that teneurins can be proteolytically processed leading to the release of the intracellular domain and its translocation to the nucleus.