When citing an abstract from the 2009 Annual - Society for ...

Time: Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 8:00 am - 12:00 noon
Program#/Poster#: 505.5/A5
Topic: A.02.b. Cell lineage and cell fate specification
Support: CIHR
HSFO
Centre for Stroke Recovery
OGS
OGSST
Title: Eip63E, the Drosophila PFTAIRE, is required for the proper development of the central
nervous system
Authors: *Y. RODRIGUEZ GONZALEZ 1 , P. JAFARNEJAD 3 , D. HAWARI 2 , R. S.
SLACK 2 , M. SONNENFELD 2 , D. S. PARK 2 ;
1 Dept Neurosci, 2 Cell. and Mol. Med., Univ. of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; 3 Dept. of Mol. and
Human Genet., Baylor Col. of Med., Houston, TX
Abstract: The characterization of the processes that control brain development is critical for
developing therapeutic strategies that rely on accurate differentiation and targeting events.
PFTAIRE is a novel member of the growing number of Cyclin Dependent Kinases (CDK) that is
normally resident in neurons. CDK5, the best characterized of neuronal CDKs, has been shown
to participate in brain development and death. Although PFTAIRE biological function and
regulation are hardly known, its expression in neurons and similarity to CDK5 suggest a
potentially important role in the CNS. Using two different Eip63E Drosophila mutant lines, we
show here that PFTAIRE mutant flies display defects as early as stage 9 of embryonic
development, as revealed by immunostaining for CNS markers such as engrailed/invected (4D9),
neuroglian (BP104), repo (8D12), fasciclinII (1D4) and BP102 antigen. Results show that the
defects include at least a striking disorganization of neuronal and glia cell bodies as well as
abnormal arrangements of both commissural and longitudinal axons of the ventral nerve cord.
Disclosures: Y. Rodriguez Gonzalez, None; P. JafarNejad, None; D. Hawari, None; R.S.
Slack, None; M. Sonnenfeld, None; D.S. Park, None.
Poster
505. Cell Lineage and Cell Fate Specification