How Do Cortical Excitatory Neurons Terminate Their Migration at the Right Place? Critical Roles of Environmental Elements

Yumiko Hatanaka; Tatsumi Hirata

doi:10.3389/fcell.2020.596708

How Do Cortical Excitatory Neurons Terminate Their Migration at the Right Place? Critical Roles of Environmental Elements

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2020 Oct 23:8:596708. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2020.596708. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Yumiko Hatanaka¹, Tatsumi Hirata^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
² Brain Function Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan.
³ Department of Genetics, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Mishima, Japan.

Abstract

Interactions between neurons and their environment are crucial for proper termination of neuronal migration during brain development. In this review, we first introduce the migration behavior of cortical excitatory neurons from neurogenesis to migration termination, focusing on morphological and behavioral changes. We then describe possible requirements for environmental elements, including extracellular matrix proteins and Cajal-Retzius cells in the marginal zone, radial glial cells, and neighboring neurons, to ensure proper migration termination of these neurons at their final destinations. The requirements appear to be highly linked to sequential and/or concurrent changes in adhesiveness of migrating neurons and their surroundings, which allow the neurons to reach their final positions, detach from substrates, and establish stable laminar structures.

Keywords: cell adhesion; layer formation in the neocortex; marginal zone; radial glial cell; radial migration.

Publication types

Review