title: Fgf15 regulates thalamic development by controlling the expression of proneural genes.
abstract: The establishment of the brain structural complexity requires a precisely orchestrated interplay between extrinsic and intrinsic signals modulating cellular mechanisms to guide neuronal differentiation. However, little is known about the nature of these signals in the diencephalon, a complex brain region that processes and relays sensory and motor information to and from the cerebral cortex and subcortical structures. Morphogenetic signals from brain organizers regulate histogenetic processes such as cellular proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Sonic hedgehog (Shh) in the key signal of the ZLI, identified as the diencephalic organizer. Fgf15, the mouse gene orthologous of human, chick, and zebrafish Fgf19, is induced by Shh signal and expressed in the diencephalic alar plate progenitors during histogenetic developmental stages. This work investigates the role of Fgf15 signal in diencephalic development. In the absence of Fgf15, the complementary expression pattern of proneural genes: Ascl1 and Nng2, is disrupted and the GABAergic thalamic cells do not differentiate; in addition dorsal thalamic progenitors failed to exit from the mitotic cycle and to differentiate into neurons. Therefore, our findings indicate that Fgf15 is the Shh downstream signal to control thalamic regionalization, neurogenesis, and neuronal differentiation by regulating the expression and mutual segregation of neurogenic and proneural regulatory genes.
authors: Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB-Arrixaca), University of Murcia, 30120, El Palmar, Murcia, Spain.
authors: Almudena
authors: A
authors: Martinez-Ferre
authors: Institute of Neurosciences, Miguel Hernández University, Spanish National Research Council, San Juan Campus, 03550, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain.
authors: Cosme
authors: C
authors: Lloret-Quesada
authors: Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Centre Munich, German Research Centre for Environmental Health (GmbH), Technical University Munich, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors: Nilima
authors: N
authors: Prakash
authors: Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Centre Munich, German Research Centre for Environmental Health (GmbH), Technical University Munich, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Wurst
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Nina Ireland Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors: John L R
authors: JL
authors: Rubenstein
authors: Instituto Murciano de Investigación Biosanitaria (IMIB-Arrixaca), University of Murcia, 30120, El Palmar, Murcia, Spain. smartinez@umh.es.|Institute of Neurosciences, Miguel Hernández University, Spanish National Research Council, San Juan Campus, 03550, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain. smartinez@umh.es.|Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Valencia, Spain. smartinez@umh.es.
authors: Salvador
authors: S
authors: Martinez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D051524:Fibroblast Growth Factor 8 / Q000378:metabolism; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D059330:GABAergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D055495:Neurogenesis; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D051498:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D013788:Thalamus / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051155:Wnt1 Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D051524:Fibroblast Growth Factor 8; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D051498:Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 3; D051155:Wnt1 Protein; C499317:Ascl1 protein, mouse; C496457:Fgf8 protein, mouse; C465570:Shh protein, mouse; C495246:Wnt1 protein, mouse; C108526:fibroblast growth factor 15, mouse; C496366:Fgfr3 protein, mouse
keywords: Diencephalon; Fgf15; Regionalization; Shh; Thalamus; ZLI