First published online May 9, 2008
Development 135, 1105e (2008)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
FoxM1: linking cell division and neuronal differentiation
During vertebrate embryogenesis, the formation of the nervous system from
the ectoderm begins with neural induction, a process that involves the
inhibition of BMP signalling. The resultant neuroectoderm cells proliferate
briefly before differentiating into neural cells. But what stimulates this
proliferation and is it essential for neural differentiation? Ueno and
co-workers now report that the Forkhead transcription factor FoxM1 is required
for both proliferation and differentiation of neural precursors in early
Xenopus embryos (see
p. 2023). They show
that FoxM1 expression in the neuroectoderm is required for cell division in
this embryonic region, and that BMP inhibition induces the expression of FoxM1
and also of the cell-cycle regulators it targets. Importantly, they show that
FoxM1-dependent cell division is required for neuronal differentiation but not
for the specification of the neuroectoderm. These results reveal how cell
division and neuronal differentiation are linked in early Xenopus
embryos, but also suggest that BMP signalling may regulate cell proliferation,
as well as cell fate, in many developmental situations.
Related articles in Development:
- FoxM1-driven cell division is required for neuronal differentiation in early Xenopus embryos
- Hiroyuki Ueno, Nobushige Nakajo, Minoru Watanabe, Michitaka Isoda, and Noriyuki Sagata
Development 2008 135: 2023-2030.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
