| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 解剖學暨細胞生物學研究所 === 103 === Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a secreted extracellular matrix-associated protein that plays various roles in the regulation of cellular functions. While the roles of CTGF have been well-characterized in non-neural tissues, little is known regarding its function in the CNS. It has been reported that CTGF is expressed in the cortical subplate, but its role is still unknown. Thus, to explore the function of CTGF in the brain, a forebrain-specific Ctgf knockout (FbCtgf KO) mouse model was generated by crossing Ctgfflox/flox mice with Emx1-Cre transgenic mice in which the expression of Cre is prenatally initiated and the full length Ctgf is removed in the forebrain structures. We performed immunohistochemistry analyses to characterize neural patterning of the somatosensory cortex of juvenile (4-5 weeks) and adult (10-12 weeks and 16-18 weeks) mice to determine the effect of CTGF on the development and/or maintenance of cortical layers. Our results showed that the distribution of neurons and glia in FbCtgf KO mice did not exhibit differences compared to wild-type mice. Recent in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that CTGF hinders the differentiation of oligodendrocytes. In our mouse model, greater number of mature oligodendrocytes in the external capsule was noticed in adult FbCtgf KO mice, compared to wild-type mice, suggesting an inhibitory role of CTGF in the maturation of oligodendrocytes.
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