Fig. 1

Disruption of Fstl1 resulted in morphological alteration of the developing cortex. a to b’ The significant reduction of the Fstl1 mRNA level in the Fstl1 ^−/− cerebral cortex. At E16.5, strong Fstl1 mRNA signal can be detected in the VZ and pia mater in the WT cerebral cortex (a and b), but Fstl1 mRNA cannot be detected in the Fstl1 ^−/− cerebral cortex (a’ and b’). c qRT-PCR for Fstl1 from E14.5 dorsal cerebral cortical extracts confirms the dramatic reduction of Fstl1 mRNA levels (***p < 0.001, n = 5). d The thickness of the cortical wall is reduced in the Fstl1 ^−/− cerebral cortex. The data are the mean ± s.e.m.: 544.3 ± 14.7 μm for WT, n = 6; and 494.8 ± 7.1 μm for Fstl1 ^−/− , n = 5, *p < 0.05. e to f’ HE staining shows the defective arrangement of upper-layer neurons in Fstl1 ^−/− cortices at E18.5 (e’ and f’). Scale bars: 100 μm