The COUP-TFII/Neuropilin-2 is a molecular switch steering diencephalon-derived GABAergic neurons in the developing mouse brain.

The preoptic area (POa) of the rostral diencephalon supplies the neocortex and the amygdala with GABAergic neurons in the developing mouse brain. However, the molecular mechanisms that determine the pathway and destinations of POa-derived neurons have not yet been identified. Here we show that Chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor II (COUP-TFII)-induced expression of Neuropilin-2 (Nrp2) and its down-regulation control the destination of POa-derived GABAergic neurons.

Leucine-rich glioma inactivated 1 (Lgi1), an epilepsy-related secreted protein, has a nuclear localization signal and localizes to both the cytoplasm and the nucleus of the caudal ganglionic eminence neurons.

Leucine-rich glioma inactivated 1 (Lgi1) is a secreted synaptic protein that organizes a transsynaptic protein complex throughout the brain. Mutations in the Lgi1 gene have been found in patients with autosomal dominant lateral temporal lobe epilepsy (ADLTE). Although a large number of studies have focused on the expression and function of Lgi1 in the postnatal brain, information regarding its functions and distribution during development remains sparse.