Foxp1 suppresses cortical angiogenesis and attenuates HIF-1alpha signaling to promote neural progenitor cell maintenance.

Neural progenitor cells within the cerebral cortex undergo a characteristic switch between symmetric self-renewing cell divisions early in development and asymmetric neurogenic divisions later. Yet, the mechanisms controlling this transition remain unclear. Previous work has shown that early but not late neural progenitor cells (NPCs) endogenously express the autism-linked transcription factor Foxp1, and both loss and gain of Foxp1 function can alter NPC activity and fate choices. Here, we show that premature loss of Foxp1 upregulates transcriptional programs regulating angiogenesis, glycolysis, and cellular responses to hypoxia. These changes coincide with a premature destabilization of HIF-1α, an elevation in HIF-1α target genes, including Vegfa in NPCs, and precocious vascular network development. In vitro experiments demonstrate that stabilization of HIF-1α in Foxp1-deficient NPCs rescues the premature differentiation phenotype and restores NPC maintenance. Our data indicate that the endogenous decline in Foxp1 expression activates the HIF-1α transcriptional program leading to changes in the tissue environment adjacent to NPCs, which, in turn, might alter their self-renewal and neurogenic capacities.

Direct and indirect roles of Fgf3 and Fgf10 in innervation and vascularisation of the vertebrate hypothalamic neurohypophysis.

The neurohypophysis is a crucial component of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis, serving as the site of release of hypothalamic neurohormones into a plexus of hypophyseal capillaries. The growth of hypothalamic axons and capillaries to the forming neurohypophysis in embryogenesis is therefore crucial to future adult homeostasis. Using ex vivo analyses in chick and in vivo analyses in mutant and transgenic zebrafish, we show that Fgf10 and Fgf3 secreted from the forming neurohypophysis exert direct guidance effects on hypothalamic neurosecretory axons. Simultaneously, they promote hypophyseal vascularisation, exerting early direct effects on endothelial cells that are subsequently complemented by indirect effects. Together, our studies suggest a model for the integrated neurohemal wiring of the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal axis.

FGF-dependent midline-derived progenitor cells in hypothalamic infundibular development.

The infundibulum links the nervous and endocrine systems, serving as a crucial integrating centre for body homeostasis. Here we describe that the chick infundibulum derives from two subsets of anterior ventral midline cells. One set remains at the ventral midline and forms the posterior-ventral infundibulum. A second set migrates laterally, forming a collar around the midline. We show that collar cells are composed of Fgf3(+) SOX3(+) proliferating progenitors, the induction of which is SHH dependent, but the maintenance of which requires FGF signalling. Collar cells proliferate late into embryogenesis, can generate neurospheres that passage extensively, and differentiate to distinct fates, including hypothalamic neuronal fates and Fgf10(+) anterior-dorsal infundibular cells. Together, our study shows that a subset of anterior floor plate-like cells gives rise to Fgf3(+) SOX3(+) progenitor cells, demonstrates a dual origin of infundibular cells and reveals a crucial role for FGF signalling in governing extended infundibular growth.

Foxp1 Regulates Neural Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Bias Toward Deep Layer Cortical Fates.

The laminar architecture of the mammalian neocortex depends on the orderly generation of distinct neuronal subtypes by apical radial glia (aRG) during embryogenesis. Here, we identify critical roles for the autism risk gene Foxp1 in maintaining aRG identity and gating the temporal competency for deep-layer neurogenesis. Early in development, aRG express high levels of Foxp1 mRNA and protein, which promote self-renewing cell divisions and deep-layer neuron production. Foxp1 levels subsequently decline during the transition to superficial-layer neurogenesis. Sustained Foxp1 expression impedes this transition, preserving a population of cells with aRG identity throughout development and extending the early neurogenic period into postnatal life. FOXP1 expression is further associated with the initial formation and expansion of basal RG (bRG) during human corticogenesis and can promote the formation of cells exhibiting characteristics of bRG when misexpressed in the mouse cortex. Together, these findings reveal broad functions for Foxp1 in cortical neurogenesis.

Development of the medial hypothalamus: forming a functional hypothalamic-neurohypophyseal interface.

The medial hypothalamus is composed of nuclei of the tuberal hypothalamus, the paraventricular nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus, and the neurohypophysis. Its arrangement, around the third ventricle of the brain, above the adenohypophysis, and in direct contact with the vasculature, means that it serves as an interface with circulating systems, providing a key conduit through which the brain can sample, and control, peripheral body systems. Through these interfaces, and interactions with other parts of the brain, the medial hypothalamus centrally governs diverse homeostatic processes, including energy and fluid balance, stress responses, growth, and reproductive behaviors. Here, we summarize recent studies that reveal how the diverse cell types within the medial hypothalamus are assembled in an integrated manner to enable its later function. In particular, we discuss how the temporally protracted operation of signaling pathways and transcription factors governs the appearance and regionalization of the hypothalamic primordium from the prosencephalic territory, the specification and differentiation of progenitors into neurons in organized nuclei, and the establishment of interfaces. Through analyses of mouse, chick, and zebrafish, a picture emerges of an evolutionarily conserved and highly coordinated developmental program. Early indications suggest that deregulation of this program may underlie complex human pathological conditions and dysfunctional behaviors, including stress and eating disorders.

Foxp-mediated suppression of N-cadherin regulates neuroepithelial character and progenitor maintenance in the CNS.

Neuroepithelial attachments at adherens junctions are essential for the self-renewal of neural stem and progenitor cells and the polarized organization of the developing central nervous system. The balance between stem cell maintenance and differentiation depends on the precise assembly and disassembly of these adhesive contacts, but the gene regulatory mechanisms orchestrating this process are not known. Here, we demonstrate that two Forkhead transcription factors, Foxp2 and Foxp4, are progressively expressed upon neural differentiation in the spinal cord. Elevated expression of either Foxp represses the expression of a key component of adherens junctions, N-cadherin, and promotes the detachment of differentiating neurons from the neuroepithelium. Conversely, inactivation of Foxp2 and Foxp4 function in both chick and mouse results in a spectrum of neural tube defects associated with neuroepithelial disorganization and enhanced progenitor maintenance. Together, these data reveal a Foxp-based transcriptional mechanism that regulates the integrity and cytoarchitecture of neuroepithelial progenitors.