Coupling Cell Cycle Exit, Neuronal Differentiation and Migration in Cortical Neurogenesis

Laurent Nguyen, Arnaud Besson, James M. Roberts and François Guillemot

volume 5 | issue 20

15 october 2006
Pages: 2314 - 2318

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The generation of new neurons in the cerebral cortex requires that progenitor cells leave the cell cycle and activate specific programs of differentiation and migration. Genetic studies have identified some of the molecules controlling these cellular events, but how the different aspects of neurogenesis are integrated into a coherent developmental program remains unclear. One possible mechanism implicates multifunctional proteins that regulate, both cell cycle exit and cell differentiation 1. A prime example is the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1, which has recently been shown to function beyond cell cycle regulation and promote both neuronal differentiation and migration of newborn cortical neurons, through distinct and separable mechanisms. p27Kip1 is therefore part of a machinery that couples the multiple events of neurogenesis in the cerebral cortex.

Authors

Laurent Nguyen

National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK

Arnaud Besson

2Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Seattle, Washington

James M. Roberts

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

François Guillemot