Work

Cajal-Retzius fate specification is disrupted by constitutive activation of β-Catenin in hem progenitors

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Cajal-Retzius (CR) cells are the earliest born neurons in the cerebral cortex, and they have been implicated in regulating neuronal migration and development of circuitry. A major source of CR cells is the cortical hem, a signaling center at the dorsal telencephalic midline. The hem functions as the hippocampal organizer via canonical WNT signaling and hem progenitors are therefore exposed to high levels of WNT ligands. We tested whether constitutive stabilization of β-Catenin (Ctnnb1 gain of function, GOF) in the mouse cortical hem progenitors supports CR cell production. We find that, although neurons are produced from the hem, they do not acquire molecular features of CR cell identity. The trajectory of differentiation examined using single-cell transcriptomics reveals that immature CR cells normally display a Tbr2+ stage, which is absent upon Ctnnb1 GOF. These data indicate that CR progenitors in the hem are sensitive to levels of stabilized β-Catenin and that a Tbr2+ stage may be important for the acquisition of CR cell identity.

Source: Development

DOI: 10.1242/dev.205072

Authors: Amrita Singh, Arpan Parichha, Debarpita Datta, Mallika Chatterjee, Shubha Tole

Institutions: Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research

Language: English

Topic: Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms

Subfield: Developmental Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green