Functional consequences of I56ii Dlx enhancer deletion in the developing mouse forebrain

- Reduced Dlx5/6 expression and perturbed expression of striatal markers in ΔI56ii mice.
- DLX2 and H3K9Ac binding is reduced on Dlx5/Dlx6 locus in ΔI56ii mice.
- Reduced number of GABAergic markers in somatosensory cortex ΔI56ii mice.

Dlx homeobox genes encode a group of transcription factors that play an essential role during developmental processes including maintaining the differentiation, proliferation and migration of GABAergic interneurons. The Dlx1/2 and Dlx5/6 genes are expressed in the forebrain and are arranged in convergently transcribed bigene clusters, with I12a/I12b and I56i/I56ii cis-regulatory elements (CREs) located in the intergenic region of each cluster respectively. We have characterized the phenotypic consequences of deleting I56ii on forebrain development and spatial patterning of corridor cells that are involved in guiding thalamocortical projections. Here we report that deletion of I56ii impairs expression of Dlx genes and that of potential targets including Gad2 as well as striatal markers Islet1, Meis2, and Ebf1. In addition, I56ii deletion reduces both the binding of DLX2 in the Dlx5/Dlx6 intergenic region and the presence of H3K9Ac at the Dlx5/Dlx6 locus, consistent with the reduced expression of these genes. Deletion of I56ii reduces the expression of the ISLET1 and CTIP2 in the striatum and disrupts the number of parvalbumin and calretinin expressing cells in the adult somatosensory cortex of the ΔI56ii mice. These data suggest an important regulatory role for I56ii in the developing forebrain by means of a potential regulatory mechanism which may regulate the expression of Dlx genes, notably Dlx6 as well as the spatial patterning of the ventral telencephalon, including possibly corridor cells.