Kin protein expression : laminar specificity during rat cerebral cortex development

Abstract Kin is a mammalian nuclear protein involved in DNA recombination-repair and the regulation of gene expression. The present study explored the expression of the Kin nuclear protein during postnatal development of the rat cerebral cortex, using immunocytochemistry with anti-RecA antibodies. The immunostaining of the Kin protein preferentially occurs within layers IV–V and VIb of the cortex in early postnatal developing brain, whereas in the adult rat this expression is observed unequivocally in all cortical layers. 35 S-isotopic in situ hybridization for Kin-17 mRNA confirmed this Kin protein expression pattern and demonstrated its transcription in cortical neurons. This gradual age-related expression during development may have functional implications in the maturation processes of the cortex.