Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Molecular and Cellular Biology, September 2005, p. 7812-7827, Vol. 25, No. 17
0270-7306/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/MCB.25.17.7812-7827.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Daisuke Mori,2
Kazuhito Toyo-oka,2
Amy Chen,3
Lisa Garrett-Beal,3
Masami Muramatsu,1
Shuji Miyagawa,4
Noriko Hiraiwa,5
Atsushi Yoshiki,5
Anthony Wynshaw-Boris,6 and
Shinji Hirotsune1,2*
Division of Neuro-Science, Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical School, Yamane 1397-1, Hidaka City, Saitama 350-1241, Japan,1 Department of Genetic Disease Research, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, Osaka 545-8586, Japan,2 Genetic Disease Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 49, Room 4C80, 49 Convent Dr., Bethesda, Maryland 20892,3 Division of Organ Transplantation, Biomedical Research Center, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan,4 Experimental Animal Division, Department of Biological Systems, BioResource Center, RIKEN Tsukuba Institute, 3-1-1 Koyadai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0074, Japan,5 Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, UCSD Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Dr., Mailstop 0627, La Jolla, California 92093-06276
Received 3 March 2004/ Returned for modification 28 March 2005/ Accepted 8 June 2005
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
LIS1 protein is highly conserved from human to Aspergillus (26, 27). The LIS1 homologue in Aspergillus, nudF (44), was originally identified as a gene mutated in a series of hyphal mutants exhibiting defects in nuclear migration. In addition, nudF displayed strong genetic interaction with nudA and nudG, which encode a cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain (CDHC) and a dynein intermediate chain, respectively (47). CDHC is a microtubule-based minus-end-directed motor protein that plays an important role in mitotic cell division, neuronal migration, and organelle transport (12, 16, 45, 46). Genetic analysis of Lis1 function in Drosophila oogenesis has shown that Lis1, similar to cytoplasmic dynein (Dhc64C), is essential for germ line cell division and nuclear positioning, supporting the idea that Lis1 functions with the dynein complex and the microtubule cytoskeleton (20, 21, 40). NudE is an Aspergillus gene that genetically interacts with the nudF/Lis1 pathway (6). We and others previously reported that there are two mammalian homologues of Aspergillus NudE, NDE1 (8) and NDEL1 (29, 35, 36); the latter, a homologue of NudE from Aspergillus nidulans, is a LIS1 binding protein that participates with LIS1 in the regulation of CDHC function via phosphorylation by CDK5/p35 (8, 29, 35, 36), a complex known to be essential for neuronal migration (1, 7, 11, 13, 18, 30). We have also shown that phosphorylation of NDEL1 is protected by the serine-threonine binding protein 14-3-3
and that 14-3-3
is required for normal neuronal migration (42), providing further support that the phosphorylation of NDEL1 is required for proper neuronal migration. NDE1 has a similar function in cells but is expressed later in development than NDEL1. Recently, Nde1-null mice have been produced (9). These mice are viable and display microcephaly. They display defects in neurogenesis that result from reduced progenitor cell division and progenitor cell fate, as well as modest defects in neuronal migration. To date, targeted mutants of Ndel1 have not been generated, and the in vitro phenotype of null mutants of Ndel1 is unknown.
To understand the role of NDEL1 in vivo and to determine whether it plays a role in corticogenesis and cell division, we generated Ndel1-disrupted mice. We found that, similar to Lis1, Ndel1 mutant mice display a dosage-dependent neuronal migration phenotype, and complete loss of Ndel1 resulted in perinatal lethality. Examination of in vivo and in vitro phenotypes suggests that NDEL1, LIS1, and NDE1 act in a common pathway to regulate dynein, but each has distinct roles in the regulation of microtubule organization and neuronal migration.
|
|
|---|
BrdU birth dating study. For bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) experiments, pregnant dams (embryonic day 15.5 [E15.5]) were injected with BrdU (50 µg/g, intraperitoneally). Subsequently, the distribution of BrdU-positive cells was determined at P0. The incorporation of BrdU in cells was detected with a mouse anti-BrdU monoclonal primary antibody (Roche), followed by an alkaline phosphatase-conjugated secondary antibody (Boehringer Mannheim). We analyzed three independent mice for each genotype.
Histological examination and immunohistochemistry. After perfusion with Bouin's or 4% paraformaldehyde fixative, tissues from wild-type and various mutant mice were subsequently embedded in paraffin and sectioned at 5-µm thickness. After deparaffination, endogenous peroxidase activity was blocked by incubating the sections in 1.5% peroxide in methanol for 20 min. The sections were then boiled in 0.01 mol of citrate buffer (pH 6.0)/liter for 20 min and cooled slowly. Before staining, the sections were blocked with rodent block (LabVision) for 60 min. The sections were washed in phosphate-buffered saline and incubated with each antibody. Primary cultures of cerebellar granule cells were generated from 5-day-old C57BL/6 pups as described previously (36). Cells were plated at a density of 2.5 x 105 cells/cm2 and maintained in basal Eagle medium containing 10% fetal calf serum, 25 mM KCl, 2 mM glutamine, and 50 mg of gentamicin/ml. After 18 to 20 h, cytosine arabinoside (10 mM) was added to the culture media to halt non-neuronal cell proliferation. Blastocysts were collected by flushing the oviducts of female mice at 3.5 days postcoitum and cultured individually for 3 days on gelatinized coverslips in ES cell medium. Cultured blastocysts were fixed in 2% paraformaldehyde-phosphate-buffered saline for 10 min at room temperature. Some samples were fixed in 2% paraformaldehyde and 0.2% glutaraldehyde for 10 min at room temperature and blocked in 1 mg of NaBH4/ml for 30 min at 4°C. After primary culture from each tissue, cells were fixed in cold methanol (20°C) and postfixed by 3% formaldehyde. Incubation with 0.15% Triton X-100 was used for cell permeabilization after fixation. Immunohistochemistry was performed based on the standard procedure. Apoptotic cells were detected by TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling) assay (Chemicon). Incorporated biotin was detected with an ABC kit and visualized with diaminobenzidene.
Primary cell culture, transfection, and immunofluorescence. Establishment of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) was performed as previously described (17, 36). A red fluorescent protein (RFP)-tagged Cre expression vector was introduced into these primary culture cells by using Lipofectamine 2000 reagents (Invitrogen). After CRE-mediated inactivation of Lis1 or Ndel1 gene, these cells were subjected to immunohistochemistry by using anti-ß-tubulin antibody (Clone TUB 2.1; Sigma) or anti-ß-COP antibody (Sigma). For rescue experiments, green fluorescent protein (GFP)-conjugated to LIS1, NDEL1, or NDE1 was simultaneously transfected with the CRE expression vector.
Reaggregate neuronal migration assay. Cerebellar granule neurons were dissociated from postnatal 5-day-old mice (17, 41) and transfected with various vectors by using LipoTrust SR transfection reagents (Hokkaido System Science Co., Ltd.) according to the manufacturer's instructions with a small modification. Briefly, 2 x 106 cells were transfected with 3 µg of DNA vector in 4 µl of LipoTrust SR reagents in 100 µl of Dulbecco modified Eagle medium media without fetal bovine serum for 20 h, resulting in 30 to 40% transfection efficiency. Reaggregates were transferred to poly-L-lysine (Sigma-Aldrich)- and laminin (Sigma-Aldrich)-treated slides. After 15 h, the distance between cell bodies and the edge of reaggregates was measured. The details of the experimental procedure have been described (17, 41). An RFP-tagged Cre expression vector with or without GFP-tagged LIS1, NDEL1, or NDE1 vector were transfected as described above.
|
|
|---|
![]() View larger version (27K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. Generation of a gene-disrupted mouse of Ndel1 [Ndel1cko(III), Ndel1ko(III)]. (A) Summary of targeting strategy for the Ndel1 locus. A diagrammatic representation of the targeting vector and genomic loci of Ndel1 gene is shown. Exons are represented by gray boxes. In this gene targeting, Ndel1 function was expected to be intact (Ndel1cko(III)). Exon 3 was removed by CRE-mediated recombination to inactivate Ndel1 function [Ndel1ko(III)]. (B) Southern blot analysis of tail DNA from wild-type (+/+, lane 1) and heterozygous mutant (+/, lanes 2 and 3) animals. (C) Southern blot analysis of tail DNA from deletion mutant (+/del, lane 1), wild-type (+/+, lane 2), and heterozygous mutant (+/loxP, lane 3) mice. CRE-mediated deletion of exon 3 was evaluated by Southern blotting. Note the difference in band sizes after deletion. We used Ndel1ko(III) as a Ndel1+/ in the all experiment.
|
![]() View larger version (32K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. Generation of another gene disrupted mouse of Ndel1 [Ndel1cko(IV)]. (A) Summary of the second targeting strategy for the Ndel1 locus. A diagrammatic representation of the targeting vector and genomic loci of Ndel1 gene is shown. PGK-neo was inserted into intron IV, which was larger than intron III. Exon IV was removed by CRE-mediated recombination. (B) Southern blot analysis of ES cell DNA. By digestion with Bst1107I, the wild-type allele, the targeted allele that lost the loxP site, and the targeted allele that preserved the loxP site were discriminated (arrows). (C) Using this conditional KO line, we were able to make conditional homozygotes. Primers are shown on the right side (arrows). (D) CRE expression efficiently removed the DNA fragment that was demarcated by loxP sequence. (E) We mated new conditional KO mice and KO mice to make compound heterozygotes. Primers are shown on the right side. Compound heterozygotes were completely viable and fertile. We used Ndel1cko(IV) as Ndel1cko/+ in all experiments.
|
|
View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 1. Embryos and mice used in this study
|
![]() View larger version (41K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. Embryonic lethality of Ndel1-null mutants. (A) Homozygous mutants of Ndel1 were not observed, suggesting that null mutants are embryonic lethal. Normal (left) and degenerated deciduas (right) resulting from the Ndel1+/ cross were sectioned at E5.5 and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. ec, ectoplacental cone; ee, extra-embryonic ectoderm; e, epiblast. (B) Wild-type (upper) and homozygous (lower) blastocysts were isolated from a heterozygous cross and cultured. Both blastocysts hatched and differentiated into trophoblast (tr) and inner cell mass (ICM). The inner cell mass of homozygotes exhibited poor growth and degenerated. (C) Quantitation of the amount of Ndel1 expression in the various genotypes. Northern blot (left side) and Western blot (right side) are shown. Expression was calculated by densitometry compared to the wild type. We repeated three independent experiments, and the results were highly reproducible. (D) Expression of LIS1 or NDEL1 in Ndel1 KO mice or Lis1 KO mice was examined. Total protein was extracted from a brain of E15.5 embryo and subjected to Western blotting. There was no obvious difference in LIS1 or NDEL1 expression in Ndel1 or Lis1 KO mice, respectively.
|
We quantitated Ndel1 mRNA and protein expression by Northern (Fig. 3C, left) blotting and Western blotting (Fig. 3C, right), respectively. Insertion of the neo gene into intron IV partially suppressed Ndel1 expression (30%), demonstrating that the conditional allele which carries the neo gene acts as a hypomorphic mutant. To test whether either Lis1 or Ndel1 inactivation results in altered expression of NDEL1 or LIS protein, respectively, we examined LIS1 in Ndel1-disrupted mice or NDEL1 in Lis1-disrupted mice (Fig. 3D). There was no obvious effect on expression of NDEL1 or LIS1 protein by Lis1 or Ndel1 disruption, respectively.
Neuronal migration defect in Ndel1 disrupted mice and genetic interaction with Lis1. In the adult brain (8W), Ndel1+/ mice displayed no obvious migration defects in either the neocortex or hippocampus (Fig. 4A). We further reduced the level of NDEL1 expression to ca. 20% of wild-type by making compound heterozygotes (Ndel1cko/). Ndel1cko/ mice exhibited mild partial splitting and diffuse pyramidal cells in the CA3 and CA2 region of the hippocampus (Fig. 4A). To examine genetic interaction between Ndel1 and Lis1, we mated Ndel1+/ mice to Lis1cko/+ mice or Lis1+/ mice. Although Lis1+/ mice displayed their typical migration defect (17), Lis1cko/+ mice showed overall fairly normal brain morphology. In contrast to single heterozygotes, the pyramidal cells in the CA3 region of the hippocampus were partially split in Ndel1+//Lis1cko/+ double heterozygotes (Fig. 4A). Lis1+/ mice displayed severe migration defects in the hippocampus recognized by the splitting of pyramidal cells. These migration defects appeared to be slightly more severe in Ndel1+//Lis1+/ double heterozygotes. These results suggested that Ndel1 and Lis1 genetically interacted during neuronal migration. The abnormal layering in the hippocampus was also clearly visualized by NeuN staining, a marker for terminal differentiation of neurons (Fig. 4B) (28). We assessed defects in cortical architecture and fragmentation of the subplate by immunohistochemical analysis with MAP2, which specifically identifies dendritic extensions of postmitotic neurons. In wild-type and Lis1cko/+ embryos, MAP2-positive neuronal processes were arranged radially to form a tight, palisade-like pattern at the cortical plate (Fig. 4C, upper panels). MAP2 also stains the horizontal processes of subplate neurons (23) but not those in the intermediate zones (34). In contrast, radial and palisade staining of the cortical plate became irregular, and horizontal staining of the subplate was fragmented in Ndel1cko/, Ndel1+//Lis1cko/+, and Ndel1+//Lis1+/ double heterozygotes compared to Ndel1+/ or Lis1cko/+ single heterozygotes. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan is distributed in the marginal zone and the subplate (37). This marker also revealed fragmentation and abnormal organization of the subplate from Ndel1cko/ mice (Fig. 4C, lower panels). Consistent with the biochemical interaction of LIS1 and NDEL1 (36), these developmental studies further suggest that Lis1 and Ndel1 genetically interact and synergistically regulate neuronal migration.
![]() View larger version (64K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. Synergistic effects of Lis1 and Ndel1 mutations on brain morphogenesis. Genotypes are shown at the top of the panels. (A) Midsagittal sections of cerebral cortex (upper) and hippocampus (lower). Lis1cko/+ or Ndel1+/ samples were grossly normal. In contrast, mild cell dispersion of CA3 region was observed in Ndel1cko/ compound heterozygotes or Lis1cko/+ and Ndel1+/ double heterozygotes (arrowheads). (B) Loss of cell compaction (arrowheads) in CA3 region was clearly observed by NeuN staining. (C) Abnormal corticogenesis was characterized by fragmentation of the subplate layer (arrowheads) which was visualized by MAP2 staining (upper panels) and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan staining (lower panels) at E15.5. MZ, marginal zone; CP, cortical plate; SP, subplate; IZ, intermediate zone.
|
![]() View larger version (55K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. Examination of migration defects of Lis1 and Ndel1 mutants. (A) BrdU birth dating analysis reveals neuronal migration defects in the cross of Ndel1+/ and Ndel1cko/+, in the cross of Lis1cko/+ and Ndel1+/, or in the cross of Lis1+/ and Ndel1+/. Genotypes are described at the top of the panels. Mice were injected with BrdU at E15.5 and sacrificed at P0. Quantitative analysis was performed by measuring the distribution of BrdU-labeled cells in each bin which equally divided the cortex from the molecular layer (ML) to the subplate (SP). The staining patterns are representative of three different experiments. Note the shift downward toward the ventricular side as Lis1 or Ndel1 dosage was reduced. CPs, cortical plate surface; CPi, cortical plate inner. (B) Summary of mean migration distance of each genotype.
|
![]() ![]() View larger version (79K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 6. Specific defect of corticogenesis and apoptotic cell death by Lis1 or Ndel1 disruption. (A) Quantitation of cell number of the cortex in various combination of Lis1 KO and/or Ndel1 KO mice. After hematoxylin and eosin staining of the sagittal sections of the cortexes of 8W adult mice, samples were subjected to cell counting. The cell counts of three corresponding sections in each genotype were determined. The histogram indicates the cell number. Mild reduction of cell number was observed in Lis1+//Ndel1+/+ and Lis1+//Ndel1+/ mutants. (B) Cortical phenotypes of Lis1 and/or Ndel1 mutants (adult, 8W) were examined by layer specific makers, calbindin (layer 2 and 3) and c-Neu (layer 5). We measured five independent sides from each genotype. Total number of calbindin-positive cells is shown at the bottom of each panel. Calbindin-positive cells were more dispersed in Ndel1+//Lis1cko/+, Ndel1cko//Lis1+/+, Ndel1+/+/Lis1+/, and Ndel1+//Lis1+/ mice, whereas c-Neu-positive cells were more broadly distributed in Ndel1cko//Lis1+/+, Ndel1+/+/Lis1+/, and Ndel1+//Lis1+/ mice. Although the distribution became more broad and overlapped, inversion of layering was not observed. Genotypes are noted at the top of the panel. (C) Histogram plots of the relative frequency of calbindin-positive cells and c-Neu-positive cells to the total cell number in each genotype. Notably, later-migrating neurons (calbindin-positive cells) were more sensitive to LIS1 and NDEL1 dosage. (D) Apoptotic cell death was examined by TUNEL stainong at E11.5 and E15.5. We measured five independent sides from each genotype. The total number of calbindin-positive cells is shown at the bottom of each panel. (E) Histogram plot of the relative frequency of TUNEL-positive cell to the total number of cells in each genotype. There was no obvious increase of cell death in early generated neurons. In contrast, significant enhancement of cell death was observed in neurons generated later, a finding consistent with loss of calbindin-positive cells, and cell death was highly correlated with the reduction of LIS1 dosage.
|
![]() ![]() View larger version (112K): [in a new window] |
FIG.7. Disruption of microtubule organization and distribution of ß-COP-positive vesicles in Lis1- or Ndel1-null MEFs. Aberrant microtubule organization and abnormal distribution of ß-COP-positive vesicles in Lis1 or Ndel1-null MEFs generated by CRE-mediated recombination. Cotransfected plasmids for rescue were shown on the top. (A and B) The loss of LIS1 causes a redistribution and an enrichment of microtubules near the nucleus (A), whereas loss of NDEL1 results in amorphous microtubules (B). Perinuclear accumulation of microtubules in Lis1-null MEFs was only rescued by GFP-LIS1 expression (see panel A). GFP-NDEL1 expression also rescued the amorphous microtubule organization in Ndel1-null MEFs, but GFP-LIS1 and GFP-NDE1 were less effective (see panel B). To address dynein regulation by LIS1 and NDEL1, we examined the distribution of ß-COP-positive vesicles, which display juxtanuclear localization in a dynein-dependent fashion. (C and D) The predominant juxtanuclear staining pattern was disrupted in Lis1-null MEFs (C) and in Ndel1-null MEFs (D), resulting in a homogeneous distribution accompanied by punctuate accumulation. Loss of this Golgi pattern by Lis1 inactivation was only rescued by exogenous expression of GFP-LIS1 (see panel C). In contrast, loss of the Golgi pattern by Ndel1 inactivation was efficiently rescued by exogenous expression of GFP-LIS1, GFP-NDEL1, and GFP-NDE1 (see panel D).
|
Neuronal migration defects in Lis1 and Ndel1 mutant granule cells.
To define the mechanistic roles of NDEL1 and LIS1 in mammalian neuronal migration, we used mouse cerebellar granule neurons in an in vitro migration assay with wild-type or mutant neurons (17, 41). Migration distances in neurons transfected with RFP-CRE alone were positioned indistinguishably from untransfected neurons, suggesting that RFP-CRE transfection had no effect on migration (Fig. 8A and D). Overexpression of LIS1-GFP led to a mild increase in neuronal migration (Fig. 8A and D), as previously reported (41), whereas GFP-NDEL1 or GFP-NDE1 overexpression had no such effect (Fig. 8A,D). Lis1-null granule neurons displayed severe migration defects compared to wild-type neurons, characterized by a leftward shift of the bin distribution of migration distance, and the mean distance decreased by
60% from the WT level (Fig. 8B and D). This migration defect due to Lis1 inactivation was efficiently rescued by exogenous expression of GFP-LIS1 (Fig. 8B and D) but not by GFP-NDEL1 or GFP-NDE1.
![]() ![]() View larger version (90K): [in a new window] |
FIG.8. Migration distance in Lis1- or Ndel1-null neurons determined by reaggregation assay. Granular neurons were isolated from P3 neonatal pups and subjected to the neuronal migration reaggregation assay. Lis1 or Ndel1 was inactivated by CRE-mediated recombination. Cotransfected plasmids for rescue are shown on the left side. The migration distance of each neurons after 12 h was binned. (A) Wild-type neurons expressing RFP-CRE display normal migration distance compared to untransfected neurons. Cotransfection of GFP-LIS1 mildly enhanced migration, whereas GFP-NDEL1 or GFP-NDE1 did not have obvious effect. (B and C) Lis1 (B)- or Ndel1 (C)-null neurons display a shift in the distribution of bins toward the right. Migration defects in Lis1-null neurons were only rescued by exogenous expression of GFP-LIS1. Migration defects in Ndel1-null neurons were rescued by exogenous expression of GFP-LIS1, GFP-NDEL1, and GFP-NDE1, but GFP-LIS1 and GFP-NDE1 were less effective (see panel C). Mean migration distances are summarized at the bottom. n, Number of neurons measured for each examination. (D) Summary of mean migration distance of each genotype.
|
|
|
|---|
To understand the in vivo role of NDEL1, we generated Ndel1-disrupted mice. Complete loss of NDEL1 caused embryonic lethality at the peri-implantation stage and a deficiency of cell proliferation in the inner cell mass. These data suggest that NDEL1-dependent regulation of CDHC is essential for proliferation and may play a role in important aspects of mitosis. Compared to Lis1+/ mice, which displayed clear neuronal migration defects (10, 17), Ndel1+/ mice did not exhibit obvious phenotypes. Further reduction of Ndel1 using a hypomorphic conditional allele resulted in mild neuronal migration defects. Double Lis1/Ndel1 mutants displayed more severe migration defect than single mutants, suggesting that Lis1 and Ndel1 genetically interact. Elevated apoptotic cell death during neurogenesis was observed in Lis1 mutants, whereas mutation of Ndel1 did not result in apoptosis. We also examined LIS1 and NDEL1 functions on dynein regulation and microtubule organization. Lis1- and Ndel1-null MEFs displayed similar disruption of the compact juxtanuclear Golgi complex of ß-COP-positive vesicles. The aberrant distribution of ß-COP-positive vesicles in Lis1-null MEFs was only rescued by exogenous introduction of GFP-LIS1, while the disrupted organization of ß-COP-positive vesicles in Ndel1-null MEFs was efficiently rescued by GFP-NDE1, as well as GFP-NDEL1, and it was partially rescued by GFP-LIS1. Lis1 disruption resulted in pernuclear accumulation of microtubules, whereas Ndel1 inactivation displayed amorphous distribution of microtubules. We also demonstrated that the disorganized microtubule network in Ndel1-null cells was completely rescued by GFP-NDEL1 but only partially rescued by GFP-LIS1 and GFP-NDE1. These results were similar to those found for neuronal migration using cerebellar granule cell reaggregation assays. Neuronal migration defects displayed by Ndel1-null neurons were completely rescued by GFP-NDEL1 but only partially rescued by GFP-LIS1 or GFP-NDE1 exogenous expression. Our data suggest that NDEL1, LIS1, and NDE1 act in a common pathway to regulate dynein but that each has distinct roles in the regulation of microtubule organization and neuronal migration.
Neuronal migration is the critical cellular process which initiates corticogenesis of cerebral cortex. Upon becoming postmitotic after their final mitosis, neurons migrate from the ventricular zone toward the cortical plate and then establish neuronal lamina via an "inside-out" gradient of maturation. Mutations of genes involved in neuronal migration result in defects of corticogenesis. Lis1+/ mutants display recognizable neuronal migration defects. In contrast, Ndel1+/ mutants exhibited no obvious phenotypes, Ndel1cko/ mutants exhibited clear aberration of neuronal migration, although the phenotype was milder than the phenotype of Liscko/ mutants. We also demonstrated synergistic regulation of neuronal migration by LIS1 and NDEL1 using various crosses of Lis1 and Ndel1 mutants, suggesting that LIS1 and NDEL1 at least partially share the same pathway during neuronal migration. A recent report indicated that loss of function of Ndel1, Lis1, or dynein by RNA interference in the developing neocortex impairs neuronal positioning and causes the uncoupling of the centrosome and nucleus. These observations support our conclusion that LIS and NDEL1 share a common neuronal migration pathway (38).
In the developing central nervous system apoptosis plays an important role in the normal organization of the neuronal circuit. Roughly half of all of the neurons produced during neurogenesis die apoptotically before the nervous system matures (22). We have demonstrated that apoptotic cell death is significantly elevated in Lis1 mutants. Apoptotic cell death was restricted to the ventricular zone, suggesting that LIS1 is essential for cell division of neuronal stem cells. Interestingly, neurons generated later were more sensitive to the reduction of LIS1. Long-lasting reduction of LIS1 might cause deregulation of proliferation and/or accumulation of disorganized organellar distribution that might trigger apoptosis or increase sensitivity to apoptotic inducers. Although migration defects were observed in brains from Ndel1cko/ mice, apoptotic cell death was not observed.
Another recent report demonstrated that the targeted disruption of the second homologue of NudE, Nde1, resulted in viable mice with a small brain (microcephaly) phenotype, with the most dramatic reduction affecting the cerebral cortex (9). In Nde1 mutants (Nde1/), cortical lamination was mostly preserved, but the mutant cortex had fewer neurons and very thin superficial cortical layers (II to IV). The small cerebral cortex is thought to reflect both reduced progenitor cell division and altered neuronal cell fates. In contrast to Nde1, complete loss of Ndel1 resulted in perimplanation lethality, a phenotype similar to complete loss-of-function of Lis1 (17) and Cdhc (14). Ndel1 mutants more clearly displayed neuronal migration defect than Nde1 mutants. These phenotypic differences between two homologues could be attributed to differences in the pattern and levels of expression during development (8, 29, 35, 36). NDE1 is expressed mainly in neuronal stem cells and is downregulated in the postmitotic neurons. In contrast, NDEL1 is first expressed in first in the early embryo. Later, NDEL1 is expressed in neuronal stem cells, and its expression continues in postmitotic neurons, suggesting that NDEL1 plays a broader role during development than NDE1. Another nonexclusive possibility is that NDEL1 has distinct molecular targets from NDE1. This possibility is supported by our observations that the disorganized microtubule network seen in the NDEL1-null MEFs was not completely rescued by NDE1 expression. Partial rescue of neuronal migration defect in NDEL1-null neurons by NDE1 introduction also supports this possibility. Further experiments with mutant mice for each of these components, which are now all available, as well as further biochemical studies, will provide more detailed explanations to address the similarities and differences in the roles of LIS1, NDEL1, and NDE1 in the regulation of dynein function and microtubule organization, as well as their roles in proliferation, neurogenesis, and neuronal migration.
This study was supported by NIH grant NS41030 to A.W.-B. and Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan to A.Y., K.T., and S.H. This study was also supported by Nissan Science Foundation grants to K.T. and a Sankyo Foundation of Life Science and Japan Brain Foundation grant to S.H.
Present address: Department of Anatomy, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan. ![]()
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»