EphB receptor forward signaling regulates area-specific reciprocal thalamic and cortical axon pathfinding
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: In early brain development, ascending thalamocortical axons (TCAs) navigate through the ventral telencephalon (VTel) to reach their target regions in the young cerebral cortex. Descending, deep-layer cortical axons subsequently target appropriate thalamic and subcortical target regions. However, precisely how and when corticothalamic axons (CTAs) identify their appropriate, reciprocal thalamic targets remains unclear. We show here that EphB1 and EphB2 receptors control proper navigation of a subset of TCA and CTA projections through the VTel. We show in vivo that EphB receptor forward signaling and the ephrinB1 ligand are required during the early navigation of L1-CAM(+) thalamic fibers in the VTel, and that the misguided thalamic fibers in EphB1/2 KO mice appear to interact with cortical subregion-specific axon populations during reciprocal cortical axon guidance. As such, our findings suggest that descending cortical axons identify specific TCA subpopulations in the dorsal VTel to coordinate reciprocal cortical-thalamic connectivity in the early developing brain.
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Institutes of Health, Science and Technology Facilities Council, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1030164648, G1252367120, Neurotrophic Factor Regulation of Gene Expression, G169643255, G2576062507, Molecular Control of Cortical Projection Neuron Identity and Connectivity, G2710620557, G3542173434, G3603444874, G5337560541, G5724315809, Intellectual and Developmental Disablities Research Center, G8871923125
OpenAlex ID: W2152048320