title: Genetic tracing of subpopulation neurons in the prethalamus of mice (Mus musculus).
abstract: Genetic labeling based on the Cre/lox reporter system has allowed the creation of fate maps for progenitor cells and their offspring. In the diencephalon, pools of progenitors express the plp transcripts in the zona limitans intrathalamica (ZLI), the basal plate of the diencephalon (bpD), and the posterior part of the hypothalamus. We used plp-Cre transgenics crossed with either Rosa26-lox-lacZ (R26R) or actin-lox gfp (Z/EG) reporter mice to investigate the progeny of plp-expressing ventricular cells in the diencephalon. We describe the subpopulations of prethalamic neurons derived from plp-activated progenitors, their possible migratory routes as development proceeds, and their final positional identity. Neurons derived from plp-expressing progenitors issued from the ZLI contribute to GABAergic cells in the zona incerta, the subgeniculate nucleus, the ventral lateral geniculate, and the intergeniculate leaflet. Plp(+) progenitors in the bpD and posterior hypothalamus appear to generate glutamatergic neurons in the subthalamic nucleus and GABAergic neurons in the mammillary and retromammillary tegmentum derivatives. In all these nuclei the contribution of plp(+) progenitors is only partial, illustrating the heterogeneity of origin of neurons in prethalamic and caudal hypothalamic nuclei.
authors.affiliation: Inserm, U711, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, 75013 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Delaunay
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heydon
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miguez
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.forename: Klaus-Armin
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Nave
authors.forename: Jean Leon
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spassky
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zalc
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D048430:Cell Shape; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology