Molecular Events in Developmental Regulation of Neuroendocrine Genes: Characterization of the Novel Neuropeptide CGRP
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Excerpt
The complexity of CNS function is attributable to the extraordinarily intricate pattern of neural interconnections, the large number of regulatory molecules that are produced and secreted by neurons, and the diversity of the neuronal receptor systems. What remains unclear is whether there exist any biological processes unique to neural tissues that are responsible for the requisite functional complexity of the brain. The challenge, then, is to define the developmental mechanisms responsible for the neuronal migration and interconnection patterns and for neuron-specific patterns of gene expression. These events are likely to be critical for specific functions such as memory, learning, and behavior. In this paper we shall try to describe an approach used to identify novel regulatory neuropeptides in the absence of prior structural or functional information. The analysis of calcitonin gene expression in brain revealed the operation of a new developmental mechanism involved in the generation of diversity of brain...
