Netrin1 Produced by Neural Progenitors, Not Floor Plate Cells, Is Required for Axon Guidance in the Spinal Cord.

Netrin1 has been proposed to act from the floor plate (FP) as a long-range diffusible chemoattractant for commissural axons in the embryonic spinal cord. However, netrin1 mRNA and protein are also present in neural progenitors within the ventricular zone (VZ), raising the question of which source of netrin1 promotes ventrally directed axon growth. Here, we use genetic approaches in mice to selectively remove netrin from different regions of the spinal cord.

The Shh receptor Boc promotes progression of early medulloblastoma to advanced tumors.

During cerebellar development, Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling drives the proliferation of granule cell precursors (GCPs). Aberrant activation of Shh signaling causes overproliferation of GCPs, leading to medulloblastoma. Although the Shh-binding protein Boc associates with the Shh receptor Ptch1 to mediate Shh signaling, whether Boc plays a role in medulloblastoma is unknown.

A core transcriptional network composed of Pax2/8, Gata3 and Lim1 regulates key players of pro/mesonephros morphogenesis.

Translating the developmental program encoded in the genome into cellular and morphogenetic functions requires the deployment of elaborate gene regulatory networks (GRNs). GRNs are especially crucial at the onset of organ development where a few regulatory signals establish the different programs required for tissue organization. In the renal system primordium (the pro/mesonephros), important regulators have been identified but their hierarchical and regulatory organization is still elusive.