Region-specific roles of stress-activated protein kinase MKK7 in the developing and maturing murine brain

The stress-responsive kinase MKK7 controls various brain functions. Neural stem cell-specific deletion of the Mkk7 gene caused abnormal brain development and death immediately after birth (perinatal lethality). However, the region-specific roles of MKK7 during embryonic brain development remain unclear. We have found that the mice with loss of MKK7 in the cerebrum were born at the expected Mendelian ratio but died within five weeks of birth. To investigate its molecular mechanism, we performed RNA-sequencing analysis in the brain. Overall design: RNA-seq data for the cerebral cortex of Mkk7flox/flox and Mkk7flox/flox Emx1-Cre mice at P1.