Cloning, chromosomal organization and expression analysis of Neurl, the mouse homolog of Drosophila melanogaster neuralized gene

The Drosophila neuralized (neur) gene belongs to the neurogenic group of genes involved in regulating cell-cell interactions required for neural precursor development. neur mutant phenotypes include strong overcommitment to neural fates at the expense of epidermal fates. The human neuralized homolog (NEURL) has been recently determined and found to map to chromosome 10q25.1 within the region frequently deleted in malignant astrocytomas. Because of its potential importance in developmental processes, we analyzed the structure of the mouse homolog, Neurl, and its expression pattern in embryonic tissues. Neurl activity is detected from early developmental stages in several tissues and organs including neural tissues, limbs, the skeletal system, sense organs and internal organs undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. Neurl encodes a polypeptide associated with the plasma membrane but also detected in the cytoplasm. Similarly to the Drosophila gene, mammalian neuralized may code for an important regulatory factor.