Work

αE-Catenin Controls Cerebral Cortical Size by Regulating the Hedgehog Signaling Pathway

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: During development, cells monitor and adjust their rates of accumulation to produce organs of predetermined size. We show here that central nervous system-specific deletion of the essential adherens junction gene, alphaE-catenin, causes abnormal activation of the hedgehog pathway, resulting in shortening of the cell cycle, decreased apoptosis, and cortical hyperplasia. We propose that alphaE-catenin connects cell-density-dependent adherens junctions with the developmental hedgehog pathway and that this connection may provide a negative feedback loop controlling the size of developing cerebral cortex.

Source: Science

DOI: 10.1126/science.1121449

Authors: Wen-Hui Lien, Olga Klezovitch, Tania E. Fernandez, Jeff Delrow, Valeri Vasioukhin

Institutions: University of Washington, Fred Hutch Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: Hedgehog Signaling Pathway Studies

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Cancer Institute, National Center for Research Resources