Development of GABAergic neurons from the ventricular zone in the superior colliculus of the mouse.
The superior colliculus (SC) is a layered structure in the midbrain and is particularly rich in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The present investigation aimed to determine whether the development of GABAergic neurons in the SC is common to that of the neocortex in which they are produced in a distinct area called the ganglionic eminence and are transported by tangential migration. A green fluorescent protein (GFP) knock-in mouse was used in which a GFP gene was introduced into the gene for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 67 and all GABAergic neurons were fluorescent. At embryonic day (E) 11-14, GFP-positive cells increased strikingly. They were spindle-shaped with processes at both poles and oriented radially between the ventricular and pial surface, together with other GFP-negative cells. After the cutting of the embryonic SC, GFP-positive cells accumulated on one side of the injury as expected from their radial but not tangential migration. In the living slice preparations GFP-positive cells migrated radially during the observation. These results indicate that tangential migration of GABAergic neurons as observed in the neocortex is not applicable and that radial migration from the underlying ventricular zone is predominant in the SC. At E12-13, bundles of commissural GFP-positive fibers which appeared to originate outside the SC were distributed at the superficial layer. These superficial fibers were no longer observed at the later stages.
Tsunekawa
Naoko
N
Laboratory of Neurochemistry, National Institute for Physiological Sciences and Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. tsunekaw@brain.riken.jp
Yanagawa
Yuchio
Y
Obata
Kunihiko
K
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D048708:Cell Growth Processes / Q000502:physiology; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D013477:Superior Colliculi / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development; D013997:Time Factors; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
D000596:Amino Acids; C109219:Brd protein, Drosophila; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D007527:Isoenzymes; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; C098463:dolaisoleucine; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase; C402565:glutamate decarboxylase 1