title: Neurogenin2 regulates the initial axon guidance of cortical pyramidal neurons projecting medially to the corpus callosum.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The formation of the mammalian central nervous system requires the establishment of complex neural circuits between a diverse array of neuronal subtypes. Here we report that the proneural transcription factor Neurogenin2 (Ngn2) is crucial for the proper specification of cortical axon projections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The genetic loss of Ngn2 in mice results in fewer callosal axons projecting towards the midline as well as abnormal midline crossing. shRNA-mediated knockdown of Ngn2 revealed its cell-autonomous requirement for the proper projection of axons from layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons to the midline in vivo. We found that the acute loss of Ngn2 in vivo induces the axon of superficial layer 2/3 neurons to project laterally towards aberrant cortical and subcortical targets.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These and previous results demonstrate that Ngn2 is required for the coordinated specification of cardinal features defining the phenotype of cortical pyramidal neurons, including their migration properties, dendritic morphology and axonal projection.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Center, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Randal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hand
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Polleux
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology*; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D055879:Gene Knock-In Techniques; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010641:Phenotype; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C102938:Neurog2 protein, mouse