Abstract
BackgroundThe POU-domain transcription factor Oct-6 has been reported to be differentially expressed between schizophrenic and control post-mortem brains. In this study, we attempted to replicate this finding and to discover whether Oct-6 was also dysregulated in bipolar disorder and major depression.MethodsOct-6 mRNA and protein expression were determined by in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry respectively in sections of post-mortem brain.ResultsWe did not observe any differences in Oct-6 expression between any of the groups under study. Oct-6 mRNA and protein was identically expressed in the hippocampal and cortical regions of most specimens in all groups, including controls.ConclusionOct-6 is, therefore, unlikely to be a specific marker for any psychological disorder; rather its expression in controls suggests that it is normally expressed in most adult brains.
Highlights
The POU-domain transcription factor Oct-6 has been reported to be differentially expressed between schizophrenic and control post-mortem brains
We performed immunohistochemistry on a series of 22 paraffin sections from the hippocampal formation taken from a total of 20 brains from all four groups under study (schizophrenia (n= 9), major depression (n = 3), bipolar disorder (n = 3), and control (n = 5)), using the antibody (Anti-Oct-6 (N)) and staining procedure as in the previous study [6]
OCT-6 immunoreactivity was restricted to large cells with the morphology of pyramidal neurons and appeared to be localised to the perinuclear region of the cytoplasm
Summary
The POU-domain transcription factor Oct-6 has been reported to be differentially expressed between schizophrenic and control post-mortem brains. One approach to try to investigate this hypothesis has been to examine genes involved in the normal development of the brain and determine whether they are altered in schizophrenia. Oct has been shown to be expressed in postmitotic neurons of the developing rodent telencephalon as they migrate from the ventricular to the intermediate zone, and is associated with those destined for cortical layers II/III and V. The POU-domain homeobox transcription factors are one such family of genes involved in development. We have focused on Oct-6 (SCIP/Tst-1/POU3f1), a member of the POU-III subfamily. Much of the initial work on Oct-6 looked at its role in the peripheral nervous system, in particular its role in Schwann cell development, where it is
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