Identification of molecular controls of Corticothalamic projection neurons differentiatiion

Molecular mechanisms controlling specification and differentiation of distinct neuron subtypes in the cerebral cortex are not well understood. Corticothalamic projection neurons (CThPN) are a diverse set of neurons, critical for function of the neocortex, but little is known about the molecular mechansims controlling their development. We used microarrays to detail CThPN gene expression at 3 developmental time points. We then compared CThPN gene expression, with the gene expression of other neuron subtypes in the cerebral cortex at the same stages (previously described in Arlotta et a., 2005) CThPN were retrogradely label with fluorescent microespheres injected into the thalamus, and were FACS purified at 3 developmental stages for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.