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At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Pax-6 functions in boundary formation and axon guidance in the embryonic mouse forebrain.

The Pax-6 gene encodes a transcription factor that is expressed in regionally restricted patterns in the developing brain and eye. Here we describe Pax-6 expression in the early forebrain (prosencephalon) on embryonic day 9.5 (E9.5) to E10.5 using both whole-mount in situ hybridization and antibody labeling. We find close correlations between Pax-6+ domains and initial neural patterning, and identify corresponding defects in embryos homozygous for the Pax-6 allele, Small eye (Sey). Pax-6 expression defines the prosencephalon-mesencephalon boundary, and mutant embryos lack this morphological boundary. Markers of the caudal prosencephalon are lost (Pax-6, Lim-1, Gsh-1) and a marker for mesencephalon is expanded rostrally into the prosencephalon (Dbx). We conclude that the caudal prosencephalon (prosomere 1) is at least partially transformed to a mesencephalic fate. This transformation results in a specific deficit of posterior commissure axons. Sey/Sey embryos also exhibit an axon pathfinding defect specific to the first longitudinal tract in the prosencephalon (tpoc, tract of the postoptic commissure). In wild type, tpoc axons fan out upon coming in contact with a superficial patch of Pax-6+ neuron cell bodies. In the mutant, the tpoc axons have normal initial projections, but make dramatic errors where they contact the neuron cell bodies, and fail to pioneer this first tract. Thus Pax-6 is required for local navigational information used by axons passing through its domain of expression. We conclude that Pax-6 plays multiple roles in forebrain patterning, including boundary formation, regional patterning, neuron specification and axon guidance.

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PubMed1994

The contribution of both forebrain and midbrain crest cells to the mesenchyme in the frontonasal mass of mouse embryos.

Migration of cranial neural crest cells is a crucial event in the formation of facial organs such as the frontonasal mass and branchial arches. However, the source of the populating crest cells that occupy the frontonasal mass remains unclear in mammalian embryos. To elucidate this, we performed focal DiI injections at various sites in the prosencephalon (forebrain, including the future telencephalon and diencephalon), mesencephalon (midbrain), and the anterior part of the rhombencephalon (hindbrain) separated posteriorly by the preotic sulus (i.e., rhombomere A; future rhombomere 1 and 2) of cultured mouse embryos from the 3- to 10-somite stage. Results directly revealed that during these stages the lateral edge of the prosencephalon produced crest cells which migrated to the frontonasal mass. On the other hand, labeled cells at the anterior neural ridge in the prosencephalon contributed mainly to the head epithelium, including the nasal placode, Rathke's pouch, and oral epithelium. As for the crest cells of the mesencephalon and rhombomere A, their destinations were significantly dependent on the injection site and somite stage. At the 3- to 4-somite stage, the crest cells emigrating from both the mesencephalon and rhombomere A migrated to the first branchial arch. Moreover, the mesencephalic region, but never rhombomere A, produced another group of crest cells that migrated to the frontonasal mass. In the 5- to 10-somite stage, the destinations of late-emigrating crest cells were restricted depending on their premigratory positions, i.e., the region producing crest cells migrating toward the frontonasal mass was restricted to the anterior portion of the mesencephalon, and the crest cells from the posterior portion of the mesencephalon primarily migrated to the first branchial arch, while those from the rhombomere A predominantly migrated to the trigeminal ganglion. Migration toward the frontonasal mass from the mesencephalon ceased at the earliest in the 7-somite stage, followed by termination of mesencephalic and rhombencephalic crest cell migration toward the first branchial arch at the 8-somite stage, whereas the contribution from rhombomere A to the trigeminal ganglion continued even at the 10-somite stage. This behavior suggests that both the prosencephalic and mesencephalic crest contribute to the mesenchymal cells in the frontonasal mass and also that the migration patterns of crest cells released from the prosencephalon, mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon depend on their axial level and developmental stage at initial emigration.

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PubMed1981

Cephalic flexure formation in the chick embryo.

The cephalic flexure, found in all vertebrate brains, is a ventrally directed bend through the mesencephalon, and a ventral bulging and elongation of the prosencephalon. Most sources say the cephalic flexure is caused by differential growth. We have measured the changing angle of flexure through time and find that flexure occurs between chick embryo stages 10 to 15. We measured, during these stages, the lengths, thicknesses, and volumes of the floor and roof of the mesencephalon and of the prosencephalon. As expected, during flexure the mesencephalic roof elongates much more than the floor. Both roof and floor increase in thickness, and mesencephalic roof volume increases twice as much as floor volume. However, prosencephalon, which does not bend, also has differential growth between roof and floor, but the growth is taken up in complex changes of shape other than flexure. There are sufficient numbers of mitoses in the brain to account for the observed tissue growth, assuming accompanying cell enlargement. We deleted brain parts adjacent to the mesencephalon before flexure and the mesencephalon bent, so migration of cells from or to these adjacent parts to contribute to the differential growth of the mesencephalon is unlikely. We reduced cerebrospinal fluid pressure during flexure by explanting heads to the chorioallantoic membrane, or into New cultures. The mesencephalon of explanted heads bends, but the prosencephalon fails to elongate. We conclude that differential growth may be necessary for mesencephalic flexure in the chick embryo, but other factors that decide the disposition of the products of growth in space must determine the shape.

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PubMed1990

Do CNS anlagen have plasticity in differentiation? Analysis in quail-chick chimera.

Heterotopic transplantations of brain vesicles of a quail embryo into a chick embryo were carried out in order to elucidate if CNS anlagen have plasticity in differentiation at the 7-10 somite stage. Quail cells are distinguished from chick cells due to the difference in nuclear morphology. The prosencephalon did not differentiate into the cerebellum when transplanted into the metencephalon, although previous study showed that the prosencephalon has the capacity to differentiate into the optic tectum. The mesencephalon differentiated as an optic tectum when transplanted into the prosencephalon or into the rhombencephalon. The metencephalon differentiated as a cerebellum in the telencephalon. It is concluded that only the prosencephalon has limited plasticity, but the mesencephalon and rhombencephalon are determined by the 7-10 somite stage.

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PubMed1998

Coexistence of FMRFAMIDE-like and LHRH-like immunoreactivity in the terminal nerve and forebrain of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus.

The coexistence of molluscan cardioexcitatory neuropeptide (FMRFAMIDE) and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) was studied in the nervous system of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, with immunocytochemistry. Within mammals, this is the first report of the coexistence of these neuropeptides in the terminal nerve. In juvenile and adult bats, both neuropeptides are distributed identically throughout the terminal nerve (tn), and they coexist in many parts of the prosencephalon from the olfactory bulb as far caudally as the interpeduncular nucleus. Peripherally, on the basal surface of the forebrain, fibers and a few perikarya, which may belong to the tn, form a loose plexus. Within the brain wall, regions of maximal immunoreactivity (ir) are the habenula, medial preoptic area, arcuate nucleus, and the infundibulum. Whereas in most areas of the prosencephalon (e.g., stria terminalis and bed nuclei, amygdaloid complex) fibers show stronger immunoreactivity to FMRFAMIDE, labeling of fibers in the habenula and infundibulum is largely identical for both neuropeptides. The arcuate nucleus contains a large number of perikarya and is the major source of both FMRFAMIDE- and LHRH-ir within the forebrain. A number of fibers run along the ependyma of the ventricular system and seem to terminate here; this is particularly evident in the median eminence and infundibular stalk. In the big brown bat, there seems to exist a continuum of FMRFAMIDE- and LHRH-ir throughout the tn and those structures of the forebrain that are known to be engaged in the control of mating behavior, reproduction, and rhythmicity. Concerning the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-gonadal axis, the arcuate nucleus may serve as a central hub between the olfactory/terminal input and superior areas including the limbic system. In contrast to LHRH immunoreactivity, FMRFAMIDE-like ir extends throughout the brainstem and cervical spinal cord. This system may also be involved in the processing and modulation of autonomic input via the parabrachial and solitary nuclei, the rhombencephalic central gray, and its projection into the hypothalamus (paraventricular nucleus), thus facilitating feed-back of gonadotropic influences of the terminal nerve and prosencephalon.

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PubMed1995

The forebrain of gnathostomes: in search of a morphotype.

A morphotype of the forebrain of gnathostomes, i.e. those characters that must have been present in the forebrain of ancestral gnathostomes, was generated by using out-group analysis to identify the shared primitive characters present in the forebrains of extant gnathostomes. The nature of morphotypes and the steps in generating a morphotype are described. Because hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships profoundly affect the resulting morphotype, current hypotheses of gnathostome interrelationships are reviewed, and particular attention is paid to the problematic relationships of lobe-finned fishes. Ontogenetic studies provide the most common basis for how neural characters are grouped, and a review of the developmental literature indicates that gnathostome forebrains are segmented, with the diencephalon arising from a rostral parencephalic neuromere, which subsequently forms anterior and posterior divisions, and a more caudal synencephalic neuromere. Unfortunately, there is no agreement concerning the number of segments that form the secondary prosencephalon (telencephalon and hypothalamus). For this reason, the characters of the secondary prosencephalon must be analyzed in a topological manner. An out-group analysis of the characters of the diencephalon of extant gnathostomes reveals that the diencephalon of ancestral gnathostomes must have arisen from three segments: an anterior parencephalic segment, which gave rise to intermediate, ventrolateral and ventromedial thalamic nuclei; a posterior parencephalic segment, which gave rise to dorsal and ventral habenular nuclei, anterior, dorsal posterior, dorsal central, and, possibly, lateral posterior thalamic nuclei, and posterior tubercular nuclei; a synencephalic segment, which gave rise to pretectal nuclei, accessory optic nuclei and the nucleus of the medial longitudinal fascicle. The pretectal and posterior tubercular regions of ray-finned fishes appear to be highly derived, due to extensive cellular proliferations that give rise to numerous nuclei. The secondary prosencephalon of ancestral gnathostomes was probably divided rostrally into inverted and evaginated cerebral hemispheres, with paired olfactory bulbs arising directly from the hemispheres, and caudally into preoptic and hypothalamic areas. The cerebral hemispheres likely comprised a dorsally situated pallium divided into medial, dorsal and lateral pallial formations, as well as an intercalated pallial nucleus situated ventrolateral to the lateral pallium, and a ventrally situated subpallium divided medially into septal nuclei and a medial amygdalar nucleus and laterally into a corpus striatum. Both pallial and subpallial centers of ancestral gnathostomes probably received ascending thalamic and posterior tubercular inputs, with telencephalic efferent pathways terminating primarily in the hypothalamus, posterior tubercle and midbrain tegmentum. An out-group analysis further indicates that some taxa in each gnathostome radiation exhibit highly derived telencephalic characters due to the independent expansion of one or more pallial formations.

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PubMed1994

Distribution of leptomeningeal glioneuronal heterotopia in alobar holoprosencephaly.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the pathogenetic significance of the topographic distribution of leptomeningeal glioneuronal heterotopia, a common finding in holoprosencephaly. DESIGN: Gross, histological, and immunohistochemical observations of alobar holoprosencephaly in brain specimens taken at autopsy. SETTING: Referral center. MATERIALS: Brains removed at autopsy from five consecutive patients with alobar holoprosencephaly. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Immunoperoxidase staining for glial fibrillary acidic protein. RESULTS: In all brains, leptomeningeal glioneuronal heterotopia showed an identical distribution, ranging from the basal prosencephalon to the pons, with the thickest distribution occurring in the basal prosencephalon. CONCLUSION: The constant localization implicates leptomeningeal glioneuronal heterotopia in severe dysgenesis of midline prosencephalon, the basic pathogenesis of the anomaly.

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