Increased cyclin E expression may obviate the role of cyclin D1 during brain development in cyclin D1 knockout mice

Cyclins D and E play critical roles during the G1 phase of mammalian cell division. Cyclin D1 expression is high and expected to play an important role during mouse brain development. However, in the present study, we found no difference in CNS morphology between cyclin D1 knockout (KO) and control wild-type mice at the ages of 1, 4 and 12 months. Analysis of protein expression in embryonic brains revealed that cyclin E is obviously increased in cyclin D1 KO mice at 13.5 days post coitum. At the same age a high level of cyclin D1 expression is detected in the embryonic brain of wild-type mice. The data indicate that enhanced cyclin E protein expression in cyclin D1 KO mice may obviate the role of cyclin D1 and contribute to the normal brain development of cyclin D1 KO mice.