title: PAK1 regulates cortical development via promoting neuronal migration and progenitor cell proliferation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1) is a serine/threonine kinase known to be activated by the Rho family small GTPases and to play a key role in cytoskeletal reorganization, spine morphology and synaptic plasticity. PAK1 is also implicated in a number of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, including autism, intellectual disability and Alzheimer's disease. However, the role of PAK1 in early brain development remains unknown.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study, we employed genetic manipulations to investigate the role of PAK1 in the cerebral cortical development in mice. We showed that compared to the wild type littermates, PAK1 knockout mice have a reduction in the number of pyramidal neurons in several layers of the cerebral cortex, which is associated with a smaller pool of neural progenitor cells and impaired neuronal migration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that PAK1 regulates cortical development by promoting the proliferation of neural progenitor cells and facilitating the migration of these neurons to specific regions of the cortex.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, 210096, Nanjing, China. xingxiupan@163.com.
authors.forename: Xingxiu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, 210096, Nanjing, China. changxinxia@163.com.
authors.forename: Xinxia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences & Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., M5G 1X8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. celeste.cy.leung@gmail.com.|Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. celeste.cy.leung@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Celeste
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, 210096, Nanjing, China. zikai.zhou@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Zikai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, 210096, Nanjing, China. feng_cao@outlook.com.|Neurosciences & Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., M5G 1X8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. feng_cao@outlook.com.|Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. feng_cao@outlook.com.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, 210096, Nanjing, China. wei.xie@seu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences & Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave., M5G 1X8, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. zhengping.jia@sickkids.ca.|Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. zhengping.jia@sickkids.ca.
authors.forename: Zhengping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002465:Cell Movement; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008938:Mitosis; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000166:cytology; D013687:Telencephalon / Q000166:cytology; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D054462:p21-Activated Kinases