Anti-POU3F1 (aa 188-201) polyclonal antibody

A recent genome-wide association study reported association between schizophrenia and the ZNF804A gene on chromosome 2q32.1. We attempted to replicate these findings in our Irish Case-Control Study of Schizophrenia (ICCSS) sample (N=1021 cases, 626 controls). Following consultation with the original investigators, we genotyped three of the most promising single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the Cardiff study. We replicate association with rs1344706 (trend test one-tailed P=0.0113 with the previously associated A allele) in ZNF804A. We detect no evidence of association with rs6490121 in NOS1 (one-tailed P=0.21), and only a trend with rs9922369 in RGRIP1L (one-tailed P=0.0515). On the basis of these results, we completed genotyping of 11 additional linkage disequilibrium-tagging SNPs in ZNF804A. Of 12 SNPs genotyped, 11 pass quality control criteria and 4 are nominally associated, with our most significant evidence of association at rs7597593 (P=0.0013) followed by rs1344706. We observe no evidence of differential association in ZNF804A on the basis of family history or sex of case. The associated SNP rs1344706 lies in similar to 30 bp of conserved mammalian sequence, and the associated A allele is predicted to maintain binding sites for the brain-expressed transcription factors MYT1I and POU3F1/OCT-6. In controls, expression is significantly increased from the A allele of rs1344706 compared with the C allele. Expression is increased in schizophrenic cases compared with controls, but this difference does not achieve statistical significance. This study replicates the original reported association of ZNF804A with schizophrenia and suggests that there is a consistent link between the A allele of rs1344706, increased expression of ZNF804A and risk for schizophrenia. Molecular Psychiatry (2010) 15, 29-37; doi: 10.1038/mp.2009.109; published online 20 October 2009

Myelination is a cellular adaptation allowing rapid conduction along axons. We have investigated peripheral axons of the zebrafish maxillary barbel (ZMB), an optically clear sensory appendage. Each barbel carries taste buds, solitary chemosensory cells, and epithelial nerve endings, all of which regenerate after amputation (LeClair and Topczewski [2010] PLoS One 5:e8737). The ZMB contains axons from the facial nerve; however, myelination within the barbel itself has not been established. Transcripts of myelin basic protein (mbp) are expressed in normal and regenerating adult barbels, indicating activity in both maintenance and repair. Myelin was confirmed in situ by using toluidine blue, an anti-MBP antibody, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The adult ZMB contains similar to 180 small-diameter axons (<2 mu m), approximately 60% of which are myelinated. Developmental myelination was observed via whole-mount immunohistochemistry 46 weeks postfertilization, showing myelin sheaths lagging behind growing axons. Early-regenerating axons (10 days postsurgery), having no or few myelin layers, were disorganized within a fibroblast-rich collagenous scar. Twenty-eight days postsurgery, barbel axons had grown out several millimeters and were organized with compact myelin sheaths. Fiber types and axon areas were similar between normal and regenerated tissue; within 4 weeks, regenerating axons restored similar to 85% of normal myelin thickness. Regenerating barbels express multiple promyelinating transcription factors (sox10, oct6 = pou3f1; krox20a/b = egr2a/b) typical of Schwann cells. These observations extend our understanding of the zebrafish peripheral nervous system within a little-studied sensory appendage. The accessible ZMB provides a novel context for studying axon regeneration, Schwann cell migration, and remyelination in a model vertebrate. J. Comp. Neurol. 520:41844203, 2012. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.