Retinoic Acid Signaling during Early Spinal Cord Development

Retinoic acid signaling is required at several steps during the development of the spinal cord, from the specification of generic properties to the final acquisition of neuronal subtype identities, including its role in trunk neural crest development. These functions are associated with the production of retinoic acid in specific tissues and are highly dependent on context. Here, we review the defects associated with retinoic acid signaling manipulations, mostly in chick and mouse models, trying to separate the different processes where retinoic acid signaling is involved and to highlight common features, such as its ability to promote transitions along the neuronal differentiation cascade.