Overexpressed In Colon Carcinoma 1 Protein (OCC1)

OCC1is a gene whose expression is particularly abundant in neurons in the macaque primary visual cortex (V1). In V1, monocular deprivation showed that occ1 mRNA expression in excitatory neurons was markedly dependent on afferent activity, whereas that in GABAergic interneurons was not. Cross-species comparison showed specific differences in expression. In marmosets, a strong expression was observed in V1 similarly to macaques.

The occ1 mRNA expression, however, was generally weak in the mouse neocortex. In rabbit and ferret cortices, the strong expression was observed only in GABAergic interneurons. activity-dependent occ1 mRNA expression in the excitatory neurons of V1 was caused by a novel mechanism acquired by primates after their separation from other lineages.