A genomic atlas of mouse hypothalamic development

The hypothalamus is a central regulator of many behaviors essential for survival such as temperature regulation, food intake and circadian rhythms. However, the molecular pathways that mediate hypothalamic development are largely unknown. To identify genes expressed in developing mouse hypothalamus, microarray analysis at 12 different developmental time points was performed. Developmental in situ hybridization was conducted for 1,045 genes dynamically expressed by microarray analysis. In this way, we identified markers that stably labeled each major hypothalamic nucleus over the entire course of neurogenesis, and thus constructed a detailed molecular atlas of the developing hypothalamus. As proof of concept for the utility of this data, we used these markers to analyze the phenotype of mice where Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) was selectively deleted from hypothalamic neuroepithelium, demonstrating an essential role for Shh in anterior hypothalamic patterning. Our results serve as a resource for functional investigations of hypothalamic development, connectivity, physiology, and dysfunction.

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Shimogori T, Lee DA, Miranda-Angulo A, Yang Y, Wang H, Jiang L, Yoshida AC, Kataoka A, Mashiko H, Avetisyan M, Qi L, Qian J, Blackshaw S