Abstract: Objective To detect the expression and the role of the long non-coding RNA AK046999 in the development of mouse cerebral cortex. Methods 1) The AK046999 locus was obtained from the UCSC genome browser, and the coding ability of protein was predicted by Coding Potential Calculator; 2) The expression profile of AK046999 in the development of mouse cerebral cortex was analyzed by immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization ; 3) The AK046999 knockout mouse was constructed by TALEN technique and identified at the level of DNA and RNA; 4)The phenotype of knockout mouse cerebral cortex was analyzed by immunofluorescence and TUNNEL assay. Results 1) AK046999 had weak coding ability and could be considered as non-coding RNA; 2) AK046999 was highly expressed in VZ/SVZ of the development of mouse cerebral cortex; 3) The AK046999 knockout mouse was successfully constructed; 4) Immunofluorescence results showed that there were no obvious change in the markers of PAX6, TBR2 and NEUROD2 compared with the control, and apoptotic cells also had no obvious change. Conclusions The AK046999 is expressed in the cerebral cortex of developing mouse and AK046999 knockout does not affect the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of neural progenitor cells in the cerebral cortex.

Key words: AK046999, long non-coding RNA, spatio-temporal expression, cerebral cortex development