First published online June 8, 2006
Development 133, 1301e (2006)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Hes1 sets boundaries
The developing central nervous system is divided into compartments (which
later form distinct populations of neurons) by boundary cells. These slowly
proliferating, non-neuronal cells control neuronal specification in
neighbouring compartments, but what regulates boundary formation? Baek and
colleagues now report that persistent high levels of the bHLH transcription
factor Hes1 regulate the formation of five boundaries (the floor plate,
isthmus, rhombomere, roof plate and zona limitans intrathalamica boundaries)
in the developing mouse brain (see
p. 2467). They show
first that Hes1 expression in non-boundary cells is variable but is always
high in boundary cells. Then, by manipulating the expression of Hes1 in both
cell types in vivo and in vitro, the researchers demonstrate that persistent
high levels of Hes1 expression repress the expression of proneural
transcription factors and reduce cell proliferation rates. Conversely, the
absence of Hes1 (and also of Hes3 and Hes5)
disrupts the organizing centres of the developing nervous system, thus
confirming the importance of Hes1 expression in boundary formation.
Related articles in Development:
- Persistent and high levels of Hes1 expression regulate boundary formation in the developing central nervous system
- Joung Hee Baek, Jun Hatakeyama, Susumu Sakamoto, Toshiyuki Ohtsuka, and Ryoichiro Kageyama
Development 2006 133: 2467-2476.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
