Abstract
Basal progenitors (also called non-surface dividing or intermediate progenitors) have been proposed to regulate the number of neurons during neocortical development through expanding cells committed to a neuronal fate, although the signals that govern this population have remained largely unknown. Here, we show that N-myc mediates the functions of Wnt signaling in promoting neuronal fate commitment and proliferation of neural precursor cells in vitro. Wnt signaling and N-myc also contribute to the production of basal progenitors in vivo. Expression of a stabilized form of β-catenin, a component of the Wnt signaling pathway, or of N-myc increased the numbers of neocortical basal progenitors, whereas conditional deletion of the N-myc gene reduced these and, as a likely consequence, the number of neocortical neurons. These results reveal that Wnt signaling via N-myc is crucial for the control of neuron number in the developing neocortex.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1035-1044 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Development |
Volume | 137 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 1 2010 |
Keywords
- Basal progenitors
- Mouse
- N-myc
- Neocortical development
- Neural precursor cells
- The wnt-β-catenin pathway
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Medicine(all)