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Dcc regulates asymmetric outgrowth of forebrain neurons in zebrafish.

ABSTRACT: The guidance receptor DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) ortholog UNC-40 regulates neuronal asymmetry development in Caenorhabditis elegans, but it is not known whether DCC plays a role in the specification of neuronal polarity in vertebrates. To examine the roles of DCC in neuronal asymmetry regulation in vertebrates, we studied zebrafish anterior dorsal telencephalon (ADt) neuronal axons. We generated transgenic zebrafish animals expressing the photo-convertible fluorescent protein Kaede in ADt neurons and then photo-converted Kaede to label specifically the ADt neuron axons. We found that ADt axons normally project ventrally. Knock down of Dcc function by injecting antisense morpholino oligonucleotides caused the ADt neurons to project axons dorsally. To examine the axon projection pattern of individual ADt neurons, we labeled single ADt neurons using a forebrain-specific promoter to drive fluorescent protein expression. We found that individual ADt neurons projected axons dorsally or formed multiple processes after morpholino knock down of Dcc function. We further found that knock down of the Dcc ligand, Netrin1, also caused ADt neurons to project axons dorsally. Knockdown of Neogenin1, a guidance receptor closely related to Dcc, enhanced the formation of aberrant dorsal axons in embryos injected with Dcc morpholino. These experiments provide the first evidence that Dcc regulates polarized axon initiation and asymmetric outgrowth of forebrain neurons in vertebrates.

SUBMITTER: Gao J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3351449 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dcc regulates asymmetric outgrowth of forebrain neurons in zebrafish.

Gao Jingxia J Zhang Changwen C Yang Bin B Sun Liu L Zhang Cuizhen C Westerfield Monte M Peng Gang G

PloS one 20120514 5

The guidance receptor DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) ortholog UNC-40 regulates neuronal asymmetry development in Caenorhabditis elegans, but it is not known whether DCC plays a role in the specification of neuronal polarity in vertebrates. To examine the roles of DCC in neuronal asymmetry regulation in vertebrates, we studied zebrafish anterior dorsal telencephalon (ADt) neuronal axons. We generated transgenic zebrafish animals expressing the photo-convertible fluorescent protein Kaede in AD ...[more]

PMID: 22606267

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Project description:The formation of connections within the mammalian neocortex is highly regulated by both extracellular guidance mechanisms and intrinsic gene expression programs. There are two types of cortical projection neurons (CPNs): those that project locally and interhemispherically and those that project to subcerebral structures such as the thalamus, hindbrain, and spinal cord. The regulation of cortical projection morphologies is not yet fully understood at the molecular level. Here, we report a role for Mllt11 (Myeloid/lymphoid or mixed-lineage leukemia; translocated to chromosome 11/All1 Fused Gene From Chromosome 1q) in the migration and neurite outgrowth of callosal projection neurons during mouse brain formation. We show that Mllt11 expression is exclusive to developing neurons and is enriched in the developing cortical plate (CP) during the formation of the superficial cortical layers. In cultured primary cortical neurons, Mllt11 is detected in varicosities and growth cones as well as the soma. Using conditional loss-of-function and gain-of-function analysis we show that Mllt11 is required for neuritogenesis and proper migration of upper layer CPNs. Loss of Mllt11 in the superficial cortex of male and female neonates leads to a severe reduction in fibers crossing the corpus callosum (CC), a progressive loss in the maintenance of upper layer projection neuron gene expression, and reduced complexity of dendritic arborization. Proteomic analysis revealed that Mllt11 associates with stabilized microtubules, and Mllt11 loss affected microtubule staining in callosal axons. Taken together, our findings support a role for Mllt11 in promoting the formation of mature upper-layer neuron morphologies and connectivity in the cerebral cortex.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The regulation of cortical projection neuron (CPN) morphologies is an area of active investigation since the time of Cajal. Yet the molecular mechanisms of how the complex dendritic and axonal morphologies of projection neurons are formed remains incompletely understood. Although conditional mutagenesis analysis in the mouse, coupled with overexpression assays in the developing fetal brain, we show that a novel protein called Mllt11 is sufficient and necessary to regulate the dendritic and axonal characteristics of callosal projection neurons in the developing mammalian neocortex. Furthermore, we show that Mllt11 interacts with microtubules, likely accounting for its role in neuritogenesis.

Dataset Information

Dcc regulates asymmetric outgrowth of forebrain neurons in zebrafish.

Publications

Dcc regulates asymmetric outgrowth of forebrain neurons in zebrafish.

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