Laminar fate specification in the cerebral cortex - PubMed (original) (raw)

Laminar fate specification in the cerebral cortex

Nicolas Gaspard et al. F1000 Biol Rep. 2011.

Abstract

The cerebral cortex is composed of hundreds of different types of neurons, which underlie its ability to perform highly complex neural processes. How this astonishing cell diversity is generated during development constitutes a major challenge in developmental neurosciences, with important implications for neurological diseases. Here we review some recent and exciting advances in this field, from the description of the cellular processes at the origin of cortical neuron diversity, to the dissection of the molecular logic underlying fate selection in cortical neurons.

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Figures

Figure 1.

Figure 1.. Laminar organization and pattern of cortical projections

Simplified scheme depicting the laminar organization of the cortex in terms of gene expression and axonal projections. Neurons sending corticofugal projections (in blue) reside exclusively in the deep layers 5 and 6 of the cortex, while those sending projections within the cortex (in red), including callosal projections to the contralateral side, reside primarily in the upper layers, with a small contingent of callosal-projecting neurons in layer 5. Each subtype expresses specific combinations of transcription factors (in blue and red).

Figure 2.

Figure 2.. Diversity of cortical progenitors

Several types of cortical progenitors and their modes of division towards neurons (in blue) are depicted, including radial glial cells (RG), intermediate progenitors (IP), and outer radial glial cells (ORG), with their specific location in ventricular (VZ), subventricular (SVZ) or outer subventricular (OSVZ) zones.

Figure 3.

Figure 3.. From genes to neuronal fates

Scheme depicting the axonal projections of cortical neurons in normal (wild-type) conditions (WT) or following knockout (KO) or gain-of-function (GOF) of three major transcription factors involved in fate specification: Fezf2, Ctip2, and Satb2. See text for further explanation.

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