Articles

Axonin-1/TAG-1 is required for pathfinding of granule cell axons in the developing cerebellum

Neural development consists of a series of steps, including neurogenesis, patterning, cell migration, axon guidance, and finally, synaptogenesis. Because all these steps proceed in a constantly changing enviro...

Authors: Thomas Baeriswyl and Esther T Stoeckli

Transient axonal glycoprotein-1 (TAG-1) and laminin-α1 regulate dynamic growth cone behaviors and initial axon direction in vivo

How axon guidance signals regulate growth cone behavior and guidance decisions in the complex in vivo environment of the central nervous system is not well understood. We have taken advantage of the unique featur...

Authors: Marc A Wolman, Vinoth K Sittaramane, Jeffrey J Essner, H Joseph Yost, Anand Chandrasekhar and Mary C Halloran

Amplification of neural stem cell proliferation by intermediate progenitor cells in Drosophila brain development

In the mammalian brain, neural stem cells divide asymmetrically and often amplify the number of progeny they generate via symmetrically dividing intermediate progenitors. Here we investigate whether specific n...

Authors: Bruno C Bello, Natalya Izergina, Emmanuel Caussinus and Heinrich Reichert

Forcing neural progenitor cells to cycle is insufficient to alter cell-fate decision and timing of neuronal differentiation in the spinal cord

During the development of the nervous system, neural progenitor cells can either stay in the pool of proliferating undifferentiated cells or exit the cell cycle and differentiate. Two main factors will determi...

Authors: Valérie Lobjois, Sophie Bel-Vialar, Françoise Trousse and Fabienne Pituello

Redundancy and compensation in axon guidance: genetic analysis of the Drosophila Ptp10D/Ptp4E receptor tyrosine phosphatase subfamily

Drosophila has six receptor protein tyrosine phosphatases (RPTPs), five of which are expressed primarily in neurons. Mutations in all five affect axon guidance, either alone or in combination. Highly penetrant ce...

Authors: Mili Jeon, Huong Nguyen, Sami Bahri and Kai Zinn

Temporal order of bipolar cell genesis in the neural retina

Retinal bipolar cells comprise a diverse group of neurons. Cone bipolar cells and rod bipolar cells are so named for their connections with cone and rod photoreceptors, respectively. Morphological criteria hav...

Authors: Eric M Morrow, C-M Amy Chen and Constance L Cepko

Neural Development – one year on

Authors: Andrew Lumsden, Bill Harris, Joshua R Sanes and Rachel Wong

Semaphorin6A acts as a gate keeper between the central and the peripheral nervous system

During spinal cord development, expression of chicken SEMAPHORIN6A (SEMA6A) is almost exclusively found in the boundary caps at the ventral motor axon exit point and at the dorsal root entry site. The boundary...

Authors: Olivier Mauti, Elena Domanitskaya, Irwin Andermatt, Rejina Sadhu and Esther T Stoeckli

The E3 ubiquitin ligase skp2 regulates neural differentiation independent from the cell cycle

The SCF^skp2 complex is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that is known to target a number of cell cycle regulators, including cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, for proteolysis. While its role in regulation of cell divisio...

Authors: Hector Boix-Perales, Ian Horan, Helen Wise, Horng-Ru Lin, Li-Chiou Chuang, P Renee Yew and Anna Philpott

Cerebellum morphogenesis: the foliation pattern is orchestrated by multi-cellular anchoring centers

The cerebellum has a striking morphology consisting of folia separated by fissures of different lengths. Since folia in mammals likely serve as a broad platform on which the anterior-posterior organization of ...

Authors: Anamaria Sudarov and Alexandra L Joyner

Tissue interactions in the developing chick diencephalon

The developing vertebrate brain is patterned first by global signalling gradients that define crude anteroposterior and dorsoventral coordinates, and subsequently by local signalling centres (organisers) that ...

Authors: Maria Flavia Guinazu, David Chambers, Andrew Lumsden and Clemens Kiecker

Left-right olfactory asymmetry results from antagonistic functions of voltage-activated calcium channels and the Raw repeat protein OLRN-1 in C. elegans

The left and right AWC olfactory neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans differ in their functions and in their expression of chemosensory receptor genes; in each animal, one AWC randomly takes on one identity, designa...

Authors: Sarah L Bauer Huang, Yasunori Saheki, Miri K VanHoven, Ichiro Torayama, Takeshi Ishihara, Isao Katsura, Alexander van der Linden, Piali Sengupta and Cornelia I Bargmann

A procephalic territory in Drosophila exhibiting similarities and dissimilarities compared to the vertebrate midbrain/hindbrain boundary region

In vertebrates, the primordium of the brain is subdivided by the expression of Otx genes (forebrain/anterior midbrain), Hox genes (posterior hindbrain), and the genes Pax2, Pax5 and Pax8 (intervening region). ...

Authors: Rolf Urbach

Analysis of Lrrn1 expression and its relationship to neuromeric boundaries during chick neural development

The Drosophila leucine-rich repeat proteins Tartan (TRN) and Capricious (CAPS) mediate cell affinity differences during compartition of the wing imaginal disc. This study aims to identify and characterize the exp...

Authors: Laura C Andreae, Daniela Peukert, Andrew Lumsden and Jonathan D Gilthorpe

Boundary cap cells constrain spinal motor neuron somal migration at motor exit points by a semaphorin-plexin mechanism

In developing neurons, somal migration and initiation of axon outgrowth often occur simultaneously and are regulated in part by similar classes of molecules. When neurons reach their final destinations, howeve...

Authors: Romke Bron, Matthieu Vermeren, Natalie Kokot, William Andrews, Graham E Little, Kevin J Mitchell and James Cohen

Metamorphosis of an identified serotonergic neuron in the Drosophila olfactory system

Odors are detected by sensory neurons that carry information to the olfactory lobe where they connect to projection neurons and local interneurons in glomeruli: anatomically well-characterized structures that ...

Authors: Bidisha Roy, Ajeet P Singh, Chetak Shetty, Varun Chaudhary, Annemarie North, Matthias Landgraf, K VijayRaghavan and Veronica Rodrigues

Distinct roles of Hoxa2 and Krox20in the development of rhythmic neural networks controlling inspiratory depth, respiratory frequency, and jaw opening

Little is known about the involvement of molecular determinants of segmental patterning of rhombomeres (r) in the development of rhythmic neural networks in the mouse hindbrain. Here, we compare the phenotypes...

Authors: Fabrice Chatonnet, Ludovic J Wrobel, Valérie Mézières, Massimo Pasqualetti, Sébastien Ducret, Emmanuel Taillebourg, Patrick Charnay, Filippo M Rijli and Jean Champagnat

HSPC300 and its role in neuronal connectivity

The WAVE/SCAR complex, consisting of CYFIP (PIR121 or Sra1), Kette (Nap1), Abi, SCAR (WAVE) and HSPC300, is known to regulate the actin nucleating Arp2/3 complex in a Rac1-dependent manner. While in vitro and in ...

Authors: Abrar Qurashi, H Bahar Sahin, Pilar Carrera, Alexis Gautreau, Annette Schenck and Angela Giangrande

Axon and dendrite geography predict the specificity of synaptic connections in a functioning spinal cord network

How specific are the synaptic connections formed as neuronal networks develop and can simple rules account for the formation of functioning circuits? These questions are assessed in the spinal circuits control...

Authors: Wen-Chang Li, Tom Cooke, Bart Sautois, Stephen R Soffe, Roman Borisyuk and Alan Roberts

DFsn collaborates with Highwire to down-regulate the Wallenda/DLK kinase and restrain synaptic terminal growth

The growth of new synapses shapes the initial formation and subsequent rearrangement of neural circuitry. Genetic studies have demonstrated that the ubiquitin ligase Highwire restrains synaptic terminal growth...

Authors: Chunlai Wu, Richard W Daniels and Aaron DiAntonio

Making sense of zebrafish neural development in the Minervois

The meeting 'From sensory perception to motor output: genetic bases of behavior in the zebrafish embryo' was held at Minerve (South of France) on March 16–18, 2007. The meeting site was beautifully situated in...

Authors: Alain Ghysen, Christine Dambly-Chaudière and David Raible

Lola regulates Drosophila olfactory projection neuron identity and targeting specificity

Precise connections of neural circuits can be specified by genetic programming. In the Drosophila olfactory system, projection neurons (PNs) send dendrites to single glomeruli in the antenna lobe (AL) based upon ...

Authors: Maria Lynn Spletter, Jian Liu, Justin Liu, Helen Su, Edward Giniger, Takaki Komiyama, Stephen Quake and Liqun Luo

Lateral motor column axons execute a ternary trajectory choice between limb and body tissues

Neuronal topographic map formation requires appropriate selection of axonal trajectories at intermediate choice points prior to target innervation. Axons of neurons in the spinal cord lateral motor column (LMC...

Authors: Victor Luria and Ed Laufer

A specific box switches the cell fate determining activity of XOTX2 and XOTX5b in the Xenopus retina

Otx genes, orthologues of the Drosophila orthodenticle gene (otd), play crucial roles in vertebrate brain development. In the Xenopus eye, Xotx2 and Xotx5b promote bipolar and photoreceptor cell fates, respective...

Authors: Marco Onorati, Federico Cremisi, Yang Liu, Rong-Qiao He, Giuseppina Barsacchi and Robert Vignali

Zac1 functions through TGFβIIto negatively regulate cell number in the developing retina

Organs are programmed to acquire a particular size during development, but the regulatory mechanisms that dictate when dividing progenitor cells should permanently exit the cell cycle and stop producing additi...

Authors: Lin Ma, Robert Cantrup, Annie Varrault, Dilek Colak, Natalia Klenin, Magdalena Götz, Sarah McFarlane, Laurent Journot and Carol Schuurmans

Sp8 exhibits reciprocal induction with Fgf8 but has an opposing effect on anterior-posterior cortical area patterning

Telencephalic patterning centers, defined by the discrete expression domains of distinct morphogens, Fgf s in the commissural plate (CoP), Wnt s and Bmp s in the cortical hem, and a ventral domain of Sonic hedgeh...

Authors: Setsuko Sahara, Yasuhiko Kawakami, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte and Dennis DM O'Leary

Drosophilaas a genetic and cellular model for studies on axonal growth

One of the most fascinating processes during nervous system development is the establishment of stereotypic neuronal networks. An essential step in this process is the outgrowth and precise navigation (pathfin...

Authors: Natalia Sánchez-Soriano, Guy Tear, Paul Whitington and Andreas Prokop

Genetic interplay between the transcription factors Sp8 and Emx2 in the patterning of the forebrain

The forebrain consists of multiple structures necessary to achieve elaborate functions. Proper patterning is, therefore, a prerequisite for the generation of optimal functional areas. Only a few factors have b...

Authors: Andreas Zembrzycki, Gundula Griesel, Anastasia Stoykova and Ahmed Mansouri

Polarity and intracellular compartmentalization of Drosophila neurons

Proper neuronal function depends on forming three primary subcellular compartments: axons, dendrites, and soma. Each compartment has a specialized function (the axon to send information, dendrites to receive i...

Authors: Melissa M Rolls, Daisuke Satoh, Peter J Clyne, Astra L Henner, Tadashi Uemura and Chris Q Doe

Electroporation-based methods for in vivo, whole mount and primary culture analysis of zebrafish brain development

Electroporation is a technique for the introduction of nucleic acids and other macromolecules into cells. In chick embryos it has been a particularly powerful technique for the spatial and temporal control of ...

Authors: Michael Hendricks and Suresh Jesuthasan

Antagonism between Notch and bone morphogenetic protein receptor signaling regulates neurogenesis in the cerebellar rhombic lip

During the embryonic development of the cerebellum, neurons are produced from progenitor cells located along a ventricular zone within dorsal rhombomere 1 that extends caudally to the roof plate of the fourth ...

Authors: Robert P Machold, Deborah Jones Kittell and Gordon J Fishell

Neurotrophin/Trk receptor signaling mediates C/EBPα, -β and NeuroD recruitment to immediate-early gene promoters in neuronal cells and requires C/EBPs to induce immediate-early gene transcription

Extracellular signaling through receptors for neurotrophins mediates diverse neuronal functions, including survival, migration and differentiation in the central nervous system, but the transcriptional targets...

Authors: Anna Maria Calella, Claus Nerlov, Rodolphe G Lopez, Carla Sciarretta, Oliver von Bohlen und Halbach, Oksana Bereshchenko and Liliana Minichiello

POU-domain factor Brn3a regulates both distinct and common programs of gene expression in the spinal and trigeminal sensory ganglia

General somatic sensation is conveyed to the central nervous system at cranial levels by the trigeminal ganglion (TG), and at spinal levels by the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Although these ganglia have similar...

Authors: S Raisa Eng, Iain M Dykes, Jason Lanier, Natalia Fedtsova and Eric E Turner

Direct non-cell autonomous Pax6 activity regulates eye development in the zebrafish

Modifications in Pax6 homeogene expression produce strong eye phenotypes. This suggested to us that eye development might be an appropriate model to verify if homeoprotein intercellular passage has important func...

Authors: Brigitte Lesaffre, Alain Joliot, Alain Prochiantz and Michel Volovitch

Regulation of spindle orientation and neural stem cell fate in the Drosophila optic lobe

The choice of a stem cell to divide symmetrically or asymmetrically has profound consequences for development and disease. Unregulated symmetric division promotes tumor formation, whereas inappropriate asymmet...

Authors: Boris Egger, Jason Q Boone, Naomi R Stevens, Andrea H Brand and Chris Q Doe

Second-order projection from the posterior lateral line in the early zebrafish brain

Mechanosensory information gathered by hair cells of the fish lateral-line system is collected by sensory neurons and sent to the ipsilateral hindbrain. The information is then conveyed to other brain structur...

Authors: Ryann M Fame, Carole Brajon and Alain Ghysen

The homeobox transcription factor Even-skipped regulates acquisition of electrical properties in Drosophila neurons

While developmental processes such as axon pathfinding and synapse formation have been characterized in detail, comparatively less is known of the intrinsic developmental mechanisms that regulate transcription...

Authors: Edward CG Pym, Tony D Southall, Christopher J Mee, Andrea H Brand and Richard A Baines

Polarization and orientation of retinal ganglion cells in vivo

In the absence of external cues, neurons in vitro polarize by using intrinsic mechanisms. For example, cultured hippocampal neurons extend arbitrarily oriented neurites and then one of these, usually the one near...

Authors: Flavio R Zolessi, Lucia Poggi, Christopher J Wilkinson, Chi-Bin Chien and William A Harris

Welcome to Neural Development

Authors: Andrew Lumsden, Bill Harris, Joshua R Sanes and Rachel Wong