Sacral Neural Crest-Independent Origin of the Enteric Nervous System in Mouse.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The enteric nervous system (ENS), the gut's intrinsic nervous system critical for gastrointestinal function and gut-brain communication, is believed to mainly originate from vagal neural crest cells (vNCCs) and partially from sacral NCCs (sNCCs). Resolving the exact origins of the ENS is critical for understanding congenital ENS diseases but has been confounded by the inability to distinguish between both NCC populations in situ. Here, we aimed to resolve the exact origins of the mammalian ENS. METHODS: We genetically engineered mouse embryos facilitating comparative lineage-tracing of either all (pan-) NCCs including vNCCs or caudal trunk and sNCCs (s/tNCCs) excluding vNCCs. This was combined with dual-lineage tracing and 3-dimensional reconstruction of pelvic plexus and hindgut to precisely pinpoint sNCC and vNCC contributions. We further used coculture assays to determine the specificity of cell migration from different neural tissues into the hindgut. RESULTS: Both pan-NCCs and s/tNCCs contributed to established NCC derivatives but only pan-NCCs contributed to the ENS. Dual-lineage tracing combined with 3-dimensional reconstruction revealed that s/tNCCs settle in complex patterns in pelvic plexus and hindgut-surrounding tissues, explaining previous confusion regarding their contributions. Coculture experiments revealed unspecific cell migration from autonomic, sensory, and neural tube explants into the hindgut. Lineage tracing of ENS precursors lastly provided complimentary evidence for an exclusive vNCC origin of the murine ENS. CONCLUSIONS: sNCCs do not contribute to the murine ENS, suggesting that the mammalian ENS exclusively originates from vNCCs. These results have immediate implications for comprehending (and devising treatments for) congenital ENS disorders, including Hirschsprung's disease.

ERR2 and ERR3 promote the development of gamma motor neuron functional properties required for proprioceptive movement control.

The ability of terrestrial vertebrates to effectively move on land is integrally linked to the diversification of motor neurons into types that generate muscle force (alpha motor neurons) and types that modulate muscle proprioception, a task that in mammals is chiefly mediated by gamma motor neurons. The diversification of motor neurons into alpha and gamma types and their respective contributions to movement control have been firmly established in the past 7 decades, while recent studies identified gene expression signatures linked to both motor neuron types. However, the mechanisms that promote the specification of gamma motor neurons and/or their unique properties remained unaddressed. Here, we found that upon selective loss of the orphan nuclear receptors ERR2 and ERR3 (also known as ERRß, ERRγ or NR3B2, NR3B3, respectively) in motor neurons in mice, morphologically distinguishable gamma motor neurons are generated but do not acquire characteristic functional properties necessary for regulating muscle proprioception, thus disrupting gait and precision movements. Complementary gain-of-function experiments in chick suggest that ERR2 and ERR3 could operate via transcriptional activation of neural activity modulators to promote a gamma motor neuron biophysical signature of low firing thresholds and high firing rates. Our work identifies a mechanism specifying gamma motor neuron functional properties essential for the regulation of proprioceptive movement control.

Exercise as a model to identify microRNAs linked to human cognition: a role for microRNA-409 and microRNA-501.

MicroRNAs have been linked to synaptic plasticity and memory function and are emerging as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cognitive diseases. Most of these data stem from the analysis of model systems or postmortem tissue from patients which mainly represents an advanced stage of pathology. Due to the in-accessibility of human brain tissue upon experimental manipulation, it is still challenging to identify microRNAs relevant to human cognition, which is however a key step for future translational studies. Here, we employ exercise as an experimental model for memory enhancement in healthy humans with the aim to identify microRNAs linked to memory function. By analyzing the circulating smallRNAome we find a cluster of 18 microRNAs that are highly correlated to cognition. MicroRNA-409-5p and microRNA-501-3p were the most significantly regulated candidates. Functional analysis revealed that the two microRNAs are important for neuronal integrity, synaptic plasticity, and morphology. In conclusion, we provide a novel approach to identify microRNAs linked to human memory function.

Loss of FBXO7 (PARK15) results in reduced proteasome activity and models a parkinsonism-like phenotype in mice.

Mutations in the FBXO7 (PARK15) gene have been implicated in a juvenile form of parkinsonism termed parkinsonian pyramidal syndrome (PPS), characterized by Parkinsonian symptoms and pyramidal tract signs. FBXO7 (F-box protein only 7) is a subunit of the SCF (SKP1/cullin-1/F-box protein) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, but its relevance and function in neurons remain to be elucidated. Here, we report that the E3 ligase FBXO7-SCF binds to and ubiquitinates the proteasomal subunit PSMA2. In addition, we show that FBXO7 is a proteasome-associated protein involved in proteasome assembly. In FBXO7 knockout mice, we find reduced proteasome activity and early-onset motor deficits together with premature death. In addition, we demonstrate that NEX (neuronal helix-loop-helix protein-1)-Cre-induced deletion of the FBXO7 gene in forebrain neurons or the loss of FBXO7 in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons results in motor defects, reminiscent of the phenotype in PARK15 patients. Taken together, our study establishes a vital role for FBXO7 in neurons, which is required for proper motor control and accentuates the importance of FBXO7 in proteasome function.

Sympathetic innervation controls homeostasis of neuromuscular junctions in health and disease.

The distribution and function of sympathetic innervation in skeletal muscle have largely remained elusive. Here we demonstrate that sympathetic neurons make close contact with neuromuscular junctions and form a network in skeletal muscle that may functionally couple different targets including blood vessels, motor neurons, and muscle fibers. Direct stimulation of sympathetic neurons led to activation of muscle postsynaptic ß2-adrenoreceptor (ADRB2), cAMP production, and import of the transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ-coactivator 1α (PPARGC1A) into myonuclei. Electrophysiological and morphological deficits of neuromuscular junctions upon sympathectomy and in myasthenic mice were rescued by sympathicomimetic treatment. In conclusion, this study identifies the neuromuscular junction as a target of the sympathetic nervous system and shows that sympathetic input is crucial for synapse maintenance and function.

Control of axon guidance and neurotransmitter phenotype of dB1 hindbrain interneurons by Lim-HD code.

Hindbrain dorsal interneurons (HDIs) are implicated in receiving, processing, integrating, and transmitting sensory inputs from the periphery and spinal cord, including the vestibular, auditory, and proprioceptive systems. During development, multiple molecularly defined HDI types are set in columns along the dorsoventral axis, before migrating along well-defined trajectories to generate various brainstem nuclei. Major brainstem functions rely on the precise assembly of different interneuron groups and higher brain domains into common circuitries. Yet, knowledge regarding interneuron axonal patterns, synaptic targets, and the transcriptional control that govern their connectivity is sparse. The dB1 class of HDIs is formed in a district dorsomedial position along the hindbrain and gives rise to the inferior olive nuclei, dorsal cochlear nuclei, and vestibular nuclei. dB1 interneurons express various transcription factors (TFs): the pancreatic transcription factor 1a (Ptf1a), the homeobox TF-Lbx1 and the Lim-homeodomain (Lim-HD), and TF Lhx1 and Lhx5. To decipher the axonal and synaptic connectivity of dB1 cells, we have used advanced enhancer tools combined with conditional expression systems and the PiggyBac-mediated DNA transposition system in avian embryos. Multiple ipsilateral and contralateral axonal projections were identified ascending toward higher brain centers, where they formed synapses in the Purkinje cerebellar layer as well as at discrete midbrain auditory and vestibular centers. Decoding the mechanisms that instruct dB1 circuit formation revealed a fundamental role for Lim-HD proteins in regulating their axonal patterns, synaptic targets, and neurotransmitter choice. Together, this study provides new insights into the assembly and heterogeneity of HDIs connectivity and its establishment through the central action of Lim-HD governed programs.

A conserved axon type hierarchy governing peripheral nerve assembly.

In gnathostome vertebrates, including fish, birds and mammals, peripheral nerves link nervous system, body and immediate environment by integrating efferent pathways controlling movement apparatus or organ function and afferent pathways underlying somatosensation. Several lines of evidence suggest that peripheral nerve assembly involves instructive interactions between efferent and afferent axon types, but conflicting findings challenge this view. Using genetic modeling in zebrafish, chick and mouse we uncover here a conserved hierarchy of axon type-dependent extension and selective fasciculation events that govern peripheral nerve assembly, which recapitulates the successive phylogenetic emergence of peripheral axon types and circuits in the vertebrate lineage.

Dlk1 promotes a fast motor neuron biophysical signature required for peak force execution.

Motor neurons, which relay neural commands to drive skeletal muscle movements, encompass types ranging from "slow" to "fast," whose biophysical properties govern the timing, gradation, and amplitude of muscle force. Here we identify the noncanonical Notch ligand Delta-like homolog 1 (Dlk1) as a determinant of motor neuron functional diversification. Dlk1, expressed by ~30% of motor neurons, is necessary and sufficient to promote a fast biophysical signature in the mouse and chick. Dlk1 suppresses Notch signaling and activates expression of the K(+) channel subunit Kcng4 to modulate delayed-rectifier currents. Dlk1 inactivation comprehensively shifts motor neurons toward slow biophysical and transcriptome signatures, while abolishing peak force outputs. Our findings provide insights into the development of motor neuron functional diversity and its contribution to the execution of movements.

What axons tell each other: axon-axon signaling in nerve and circuit assembly.

A remarkable feature of nervous system development is the ability of axons emerging from newly formed neurons to traverse, by cellular scale, colossal distances to appropriate targets. The earliest axons achieve this in an essentially axon-free environment, but the vast majority of axons eventually grow along a scaffold of nerve tracts created by earlier extending axons. Signal exchange between sequentially or simultaneously extending axons may well represent the predominant mode of axonal navigation, but proportionally few efforts have so far been directed at deciphering the underlying mechanisms. This review intends to provide a conceptual update on the cellular and molecular principles driving axon-axon interactions, with emphasis on those contributing to the fidelity of axonal navigation, sorting and connectivity during nerve and circuit assembly.

Ret is a multifunctional coreceptor that integrates diffusible- and contact-axon guidance signals.

Growing axons encounter multiple guidance cues, but it is unclear how separate signals are resolved and integrated into coherent instructions for growth cone navigation. We report that glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored ephrin-As function as "reverse" signaling receptors for motor axons when contacted by transmembrane EphAs present in the dorsal limb. Ephrin-A receptors are thought to depend on transmembrane coreceptors for transmitting signals intracellularly. We show that the receptor tyrosine kinase Ret is required for motor axon attraction mediated by ephrin-A reverse signaling. Ret also mediates GPI-anchored GFRα1 signaling in response to GDNF, a diffusible chemoattractant in the limb, indicating that Ret is a multifunctional coreceptor for guidance molecules. Axons respond synergistically to coactivation by GDNF and EphA ligands, and these cooperative interactions are gated by GFRα1 levels. Our studies uncover a hierarchical GPI-receptor signaling network that is constructed from combinatorial components and integrated through Ret using ligand coincidence detection.

Direct live monitoring of heterotypic axon-axon interactions in vitro.

This protocol describes an optimized method for direct in vitro monitoring of homo- and heterotypic axon-axon interactions involved in the developmental assembly of neural circuits. The assay exploits a classical example of heterotypic axonal interactions by modeling the sequential extension of spinal motor and somatosensory neuron axons, but the procedure should be readily adaptable to other neuron types. The protocol is based on the rapid isolation and primary culture of genetically identified motor neurons combined with straightforward vital dye labeling and culture of dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons. Subsequently, axonal interactions are directly monitored via live fluorescence microscopy, whereas axon type identities can be unambiguously delineated throughout the experiments. Through chemical compound application or by using neurons derived from genetically engineered mice, the protocol facilitates the dissection of molecular pathways driving the axonal interactions that are crucial for neural pathway and circuit assembly. The whole procedure can be completed in 3 d.

Anatomical coupling of sensory and motor nerve trajectory via axon tracking.

It is a long-standing question how developing motor and sensory neuron projections cooperatively form a common principal grid of peripheral nerve pathways relaying behavioral outputs and somatosensory inputs. Here, we explored this issue through targeted cell lineage and gene manipulation in mouse, combined with in vitro live axon imaging. In the absence of motor projections, dorsal (epaxial) and ventral (hypaxial) sensory projections form in a randomized manner, while removal of EphA3/4 receptor tyrosine kinases expressed by epaxial motor axons triggers selective failure to form epaxial sensory projections. EphA3/4 act non-cell-autonomously by inducing sensory axons to track along preformed epaxial motor projections. This involves cognate ephrin-A proteins on sensory axons but is independent from EphA3/4 signaling in motor axons proper. Assembly of peripheral nerve pathways thus involves motor axon subtype-specific signals that couple sensory projections to discrete motor pathways.

TDP-43-mediated neuron loss in vivo requires RNA-binding activity.

Alteration and/or mutations of the ribonucleoprotein TDP-43 have been firmly linked to human neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). The relative impacts of TDP-43 alteration, mutation, or inherent protein function on neural integrity, however, remain less clear--a situation confounded by conflicting reports based on transient and/or random-insertion transgenic expression. We therefore performed a stringent comparative investigation of impacts of these TDP-43 modifications on neural integrity in vivo. To achieve this, we systematically screened ALS/FTLD-associated and synthetic TDP-43 isoforms via same-site gene insertion and neural expression in Drosophila; followed by transposon-based motor neuron-specific transgenesis in a chick vertebrate system. Using this bi-systemic approach we uncovered a requirement of inherent TDP-43 RNA-binding function--but not ALS/FTLD-linked mutation, mislocalization, or truncation--for TDP-43-mediated neurotoxicity in vivo.

Dual requirement for Pax6 in retinal progenitor cells.

Throughout the developing central nervous system, pre-patterning of the ventricular zone into discrete neural progenitor domains is one of the predominant strategies used to produce neuronal diversity in a spatially coordinated manner. In the retina, neurogenesis proceeds in an intricate chronological and spatial sequence, yet it remains unclear whether retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) display intrinsic heterogeneity at any given time point. Here, we performed a detailed study of RPC fate upon temporally and spatially confined inactivation of Pax6. Timed genetic removal of Pax6 appeared to unmask a cryptic divergence of RPCs into qualitatively divergent progenitor pools. In the more peripheral RPCs under normal circumstances, Pax6 seemed to prevent premature activation of a photoreceptor-differentiation pathway by suppressing expression of the transcription factor Crx. More centrally, Pax6 contributed to the execution of the comprehensive potential of RPCs: Pax6 ablation resulted in the exclusive generation of amacrine interneurons. Together, these data suggest an intricate dual role for Pax6 in retinal neurogenesis, while pointing to the cryptic divergence of RPCs into distinct progenitor pools.

Segregation of axial motor and sensory pathways via heterotypic trans-axonal signaling.

Execution of motor behaviors relies on circuitries effectively integrating immediate sensory feedback to efferent pathways controlling muscle activity. It remains unclear how, during neuromuscular circuit assembly, sensory and motor projections become incorporated into tightly coordinated, yet functionally separate pathways. We report that, within axial nerves, establishment of discrete afferent and efferent pathways depends on coordinate signaling between coextending sensory and motor projections. These heterotypic axon-axon interactions require motor axonal EphA3/EphA4 receptor tyrosine kinases activated by cognate sensory axonal ephrin-A ligands. Genetic elimination of trans-axonal ephrin-A --> EphA signaling in mice triggers drastic motor-sensory miswiring, culminating in functional efferents within proximal afferent pathways. Effective assembly of a key circuit underlying motor behaviors thus critically depends on trans-axonal signaling interactions resolving motor and sensory projections into discrete pathways.

Instructive role of aPKCzeta subcellular localization in the assembly of adherens junctions in neural progenitors.

In the neurogenic phase of CNS development, the proliferating progenitors are found medially within the neuroepithelium. The adherens junctions on the apical membrane of proliferating neural progenitors allow for cell-cell adhesion and medial stratification. In contrast, differentiating neuronal precursors delaminate and migrate laterally, establishing the laminar layers. Apical adherens junctions also establish the apical-basal polarity in neural progenitors, which in turn is postulated to lead to asymmetric inheritance of cell fate determinants during neurogenic divisions. The signaling pathways and cellular mechanisms that regulate the assembly and asymmetric localization of adherens junctions in neural progenitors remain elusive. Here we show that atypical PKCzeta/lambda (aPKCzeta/lambda) localizes at the apical membrane of proliferating neural stem cells, but not postmitotic neuronal precursors, in the developing chicken neural tube. This precise subcellular compartmentalization of the kinase activity provides an instructive signal for apical assembly of adherens junctions in a PI3K, Rac/Cdc42 signaling-dependent pathway. Apical aPKCzeta coordinates neural stem cell proliferation and the overall stratification of cell types within the neural tube.

Conditional deletion of activating protein 2alpha (AP-2alpha) in the developing retina demonstrates non-cell-autonomous roles for AP-2alpha in optic cup development.

Activating protein 2alpha (AP-2alpha) is known to be expressed in the retina, and AP-2alpha-null mice exhibit defects in the developing optic cup, including patterning of the neural retina (NR) and a replacement of the dorsal retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) with NR. In this study, we analyzed the temporal and spatial retinal expression patterns of AP-2alpha and created a conditional deletion of AP-2alpha in the developing retina. AP-2alpha exhibited a distinct expression pattern in the developing inner nuclear layer of the retina, and colocalization studies indicated that AP-2alpha was exclusively expressed in postmitotic amacrine cell populations. Targeted deletion of AP-2alpha in the developing retina did not result in observable retinal defects. Further examination of AP-2alpha-null mutants revealed that the severity of the RPE defect was variable and, although defects in retinal lamination occur at later embryonic stages, earlier stages showed normal lamination and expression of markers for amacrine and ganglion cells. Together, these data demonstrate that, whereas AP-2alpha alone does not play an intrinsic role in retinogenesis, it has non-cell-autonomous effects on optic cup development. Additional expression analyses showed that multiple AP-2 proteins are present in the developing retina, which will be important to future studies.

The proliferation and expansion of retinal stem cells require functional Pax6.

Retinal stem cells (RSCs) exist as rare pigmented ciliary epithelial cells in adult mammalian eyes. We hypothesized that RSCs are at the top of the retinal cell lineage. Thus, genes expressed early in embryonic development to establish the retinal field in forebrain neuroectoderm may play important roles in RSCs. Pax6, a paired domain and homeodomain-containing transcription factor, is one of the earliest genes expressed in the eye field and is considered a master control gene for retinal and eye development. Here, we demonstrate that Pax6 is enriched in RSCs. Inactivation of Pax6 in vivo results in loss of competent RSCs as assayed by the failure to form clonal RSC spheres from the optic vesicles of conventional Pax6 knockout embryos and from the ciliary epithelial cells of adult Pax6 conditional knockout mice. In vitro clonal inactivation of Pax6 in adult RSCs results in a serious proliferation defect, suggesting that Pax6 is required for the proliferation and expansion of RSCs.

Notch1 functions to suppress cone-photoreceptor fate specification in the developing mouse retina.

Notch receptor-mediated cell-cell signaling is known to negatively regulate neurogenesis in both vertebrate and invertebrate species, while being implicated in promoting the acquisition of glial fates. We studied Notch1 function directly during retinal neurogenesis by selective Cre/loxP-triggered Notch1 gene inactivation in peripheral retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) prior to the onset of cell differentiation. Consistent with its previously established role, Notch1 inactivation led to dramatic alteration in the expression profile of multiple basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors, consequently prompting premature cell-cycle exit and neuronal specification. Surprisingly, however, Notch1 inactivation led to a striking change in retinal cell composition, with cone-photoreceptor precursors expanding at the expense of other early- as well as late-born cell fates. Intriguingly, the Notch1-deficient precursors adhered to the normal chronological sequence of the cone-photoreceptor differentiation program. Together, these findings reveal an unexpected role of Notch signaling in directly controlling neuronal cell-type composition, and suggest a model by which, during normal retinogenesis, Notch1 functions to suppress cone-photoreceptor fate, allowing for the specification of the diversity of retinal cell types.

Genetic dissection of Pax6 dosage requirements in the developing mouse eye.

Haploinsufficiency of the transcription factor Pax6/PAX6 has been implicated in a number of congenital eye disorders in humans and mice, such as aniridia and Small-eye, which affect the development and function of the lens, cornea, anterior eye segment and neuroretina. However, the widespread distribution of Pax6/PAX6 protein within the developing and adult eye preclude the identification and direct study of the ocular tissues affected by a reduction in Pax6/PAX6 dosage. Here, we employed Cre/loxP-mediated inactivation of a single Pax6 allele in either the lens/cornea or the distal optic cup to dissect the tissue-specific sensitivity to Pax6 haploinsufficiency. Exclusive inactivation of a single Pax6 allele in the lens recapitulates the Small-eye lens and corneal defects, while only mildly affects iris morphology in a non-cell-autonomous fashion. Conversely, selective inactivation of a single Pax6 allele in the distal optic cup revealed primarily cell-autonomous dosage requirements for proper iris differentiation, with no affects on either lens or corneal morphology. Pax6 dosage within the distal optic cup is found here to influence the number of progenitors destined for the anterior ocular structures, the timing of iris muscle-cell differentiation and iris stroma development. Taken together, we genetically dissected the complex mouse Small-eye phenotype, thereby pinpointing the underlying Pax6/PAX6 haploinsufficiency to autonomous dosage requirements within the developing iris and lens/cornea tissues.