Expression of fasciculation and elongation protein zeta-1 (FEZ1) in the developing rat brain.

Fasciculation and elongation protein zeta-1 (FEZ1) is a mammalian homologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-76 protein involved in axonal outgrowth and fasciculation. Recently, we reported that FEZ1 interacts with Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), a product of the candidate gene for schizophrenia, and that the interaction between these proteins has a role in neurite outgrowth. This time, we investigated the expression of FEZ1 and DISC1 in the developing rat brain using in situ hybridization. Both FEZ1 and DISC1 showed high levels of expression, especially in developing hippocampal neurons. These findings suggest the potential involvement of FEZ1 and DISC1 in the formation of hippocampal neural circuits.