Regulatory pathways linking progenitor patterning, cell fates and neurogenesis in the ventral neural tube

The assembly of neural circuits in the vertebrate central nervous system depends on the organized generation of specific neuronal subtypes. Studies over recent years have begun to reveal the principles and elucidate some of the detailed mechanisms that underlie these processes. In general, exposure...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 2008-01, Vol.363 (1489), p.57-70
Main Authors: Briscoe, James, Novitch, Bennett G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cell Differentiation - physiology
Cell Proliferation
Cells
Hedgehog Signalling
Hedgehogs
Identity
Motor neurons
Neural stem cells
Neural Tube - cytology
Neural Tube - physiology
Neural Tube Patterning
Neurogenesis
Neuronal Subtype Identity
Neurons
Neurons - classification
Neurons - physiology
Progenitor cells
Signal Transduction - physiology
Spinal cord
Stem cells
Stem Cells - physiology
Transcription Factors
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Summary:The assembly of neural circuits in the vertebrate central nervous system depends on the organized generation of specific neuronal subtypes. Studies over recent years have begun to reveal the principles and elucidate some of the detailed mechanisms that underlie these processes. In general, exposure to different types and concentrations of signals directs neural progenitor populations to generate specific subtypes of neurons. These signals function by regulating the expression of intrinsic determinants, notably transcription factors, which specify the fate of cells as they differentiate into neurons. In this review, we illustrate these concepts by focusing on the generation of neurons in ventral regions of the spinal cord, where detailed knowledge of the mechanisms that regulate cell identity has provided insight into the development of a number of neuronal subtypes, including motor neurons. A greater knowledge of the molecular control of neural development is likely to have practical benefits in understanding the causes and consequences of neurological diseases. Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated how an understanding of normal neural development can be applied to direct differentiation of stem cells in vitro to specific neuronal subtypes. This type of rational manipulation of stem cells may represent the first step in the development of treatments based on therapeutic replacement of diseased or damaged nervous tissue.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.2006.2012