Journal
CEREBRAL CORTEX
Volume 21, Issue 11, Pages 2599-2611Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhr046
Keywords
basic-helix-loop-helix; dorsal telencephalon; pallium; proneural gene; transcription factor
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Funding
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) [MOP-44094]
- Medical Research Council
- Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR)
- CIHR Canada
- Heart and Stroke Foundation
- QEII Scholarship
- Medical Research Development Fellowship
- Medical Research Council [MC_U117570528] Funding Source: researchfish
- MRC [MC_U117570528] Funding Source: UKRI
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Cajal-Retzius cells are essential pioneer neurons that guide neuronal migration in the developing neocortex. During development, Cajal-Retzius cells arise from distinct progenitor domains that line the margins of the dorsal telencephalon, or pallium. Here, we show that the proneural gene Ascl1 is expressed in Cajal-Retzius cell progenitors in the pallial septum, ventral pallium, and cortical hem. Using a short-term lineage trace, we demonstrate that it is primarily the Ascl1-expressing progenitors in the pallial septum and ventral pallium that differentiate into Cajal-Retzius cells. Accordingly, we found a small, albeit significant reduction in the number of Reelin(+) and Trp73(+) Cajal-Retzius cells in the Ascl1(-/-) neocortex. Conversely, using a gain-of-function approach, we found that Ascl1 induces the expression of both Reelin, a Cajal-Retzius marker, and Tbr1, a marker of pallial-derived neurons, in a subset of early-stage pallial progenitors, an activity that declines over developmental time. Taken together, our data indicate that the proneural gene Ascl1 is required and sufficient to promote the differentiation of a subset of Cajal-Retzius neurons during early neocortical development. Notably, this is the first study that reports a function for Ascl1 in the pallium, as this gene is best known for its role in specifying subpallial neuronal identities.
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