Mechanisms that control brain cell dynamics through interplay between cells and microenvironment

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Interplay of developmental clock and extracellular environment in brain formation
• Project/Area Number: 16H06482
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: NAKAJIMA Kazunori 慶應義塾大学, 医学部(信濃町), 教授 (90280734)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-06-30 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 神経科学 / 発生・分化 / 脳・神経 / 大脳皮質 / ニューロン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the developing cortex, different types of cells are generated from neural stem/progenitor cells depending on the “developmental clock”, and move toward their final destinations. The aim of this study was to clarify how the neuronal migration and differentiation are regulated through interactions with the surrounding cellular environment. As the results, we found that the migrating neurons receive an extracellular signal in the marginal zone to achieve the layer formation through interacting with multiple receptors, one for the termination of migration and another for enabling cellular aggregation. We also found that the neuronal identity in the cerebral cortex is not completely determined just by when the cells are born but also by the cellular environment that they find themselves in. It is thus thought that the cortex is formed through interplay between the cellular clock and the microenvironment.

Free Research Field

発生神経生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

脳を構成する細胞群は、神経幹/前駆細胞に内在する「発生時計」依存的に、次々に異なる種類の細胞が産生され分化してくることが知られている。一方、脳の複雑なネットワーク構造の形成が、発生時計のみで制御されているとは考えにくい。本研究では、各細胞が置かれた場に依存して細胞周囲から適切なシグナルが入り、細胞移動や分化運命などが調節されるしくみの一端を明らかにした。発生時計と場との連携が、脳の発生に重要な役割を担うと考えられた。