Molecular regulation of forebrain development and neural stem/progenitor cells

The development of the forebrain is dependent on controlled regulation of neural stem/progenitor cells, since the vast majority of all cells in the forebrain are generated by them. The cellular processes influencing forebrain development include cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and apoptosis, which are regulated in a spatiotemporal manner by genetic programs and interactive protein networks in a given environment. In this thesis, the influence of Netrin1 (NTN1), Human papilloma virus (HPV) E6/E7, and actin-bundling protein with BAIAP2 homology (ABBA) proteins on neural stem/progenitor cells cellular processes was studied and evaluated. In vitro methods were used to uncover the cellular processes regulated and affected by these proteins. In addition, in vivo methods were used to assess their possible impact on forebrain development in mice. NTN1 belongs to a conserved family of laminin-related molecules and it is present in the developing and adult mouse brain. NTN1 has been thought to act as a diffusible long or short-range guidance cue, which influences growing axons and migrating cells in either a chemoattractive or repulsive manner, and NTN1 deficiency in the brain causes defects in axon guidance and cell migration. The main issue of this thesis was to determine the developmental impact of NTN1 in the formation of two forebrain structures, the olfactory bulb and the corpus callosum (CC). Olfactory bulb processes arriving odour information from the nasal cavity and transmit this information forward to various brain regions. During development, the different cell types of olfactory bulb are generated in distinct germinal regions of the brain. Projection neurons are mainly generated by the olfactory bulb stem/progenitor cells whereas majority of the interneurons are produced by the progenitors, which migrate from the forebrain germinal zones into the olfactory bulb via rostral migratory stream (RMS). The origin of non-neural cells, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, is not as well understood as neurons. We observed that NTN1 has a significant impact on the beginning of stem/progenitor cells migration from the forebrain germinal zones into the olfactory bulb. In more detail, the migration of Ntn1 expressing stem/progenitor cells was delayed, which led to an accumulation of these cells in RMS, and to a substantial reduction of GABAergic interneurons and oligodendrocytes in the olfactory bulb. Thus, the results suggest that NTN1 acts mainly as a detachment/release factor for the Ntn1 expressing stem/progenitor cells in the beginning of their migration and this function is mediated in either cell-autonomous or paracrine manner. CC is the largest axon tract in the forebrain and it integrates motor, sensory and cognitive performances between cerebral hemispheres. In mice, the cerebral hemispheres have to fuse in the midline before the commissural axons can cross the midline and form the CC. This interhemispheric fusion normally includes the removal of leptomeningeal cells found between the hemispheres and disruption of pial basal lamina, which is produced and maintained by the leptomeningeal cells. In Ntn1 deficient mice the leptomeningeal cells were not removed and the pial basal lamina remained intact in the hemispheric midline. Thus, the results suggest that NTN1 is required for the interhemispheric fusion, which precedes midline crossing of commissural axons and is a prerequisite for the formation of the CC. ABBA belongs to the Bin–amphiphysin–Rvs167 (BAR) protein superfamily, which regulates plasma membrane morphology by directly influencing plasma membrane assembly or through rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton. The functional and expression studies revealed that ABBA participates in the regulation of cell protrusions by enhancing actin dynamics and connecting plasma membrane deformation to actin cytoskeleton. ABBA was present in radial glia-like cells and radial glial cell extensions near meningeal pial basal lamina during CNS development. During early development of brain, interaction between radial glial end-feet and pial basal lamina is required to sustain radial migration and integrity of pial basal lamina. Thus, ABBA may have an important role in formation of radial glial extensions and their connections in CNS. Exquisite balance between proliferation, self-renew and differentiation of stem/progenitor cells is necessary to maintain appropriate tissue homeostasis. HPV16 E6/E7 oncoprotein mediated degradation of p53 and pRb family of proteins seemed to facilitate a defective coupling of proliferation, self-renewal, and differentiation processes inside neural stem/progenitor cells. In addition, these processes also seemed to be susceptible to the environmental signals. Hence, a defective coupling of proliferation, self-renewal, and differentiation processes in neural stem/progenitor cells may lead to an imbalance in normal tissue homeostasis and abnormal growth of tissue in the brain. In summary, even though NTN1, HPV E6/E7, and ABBA proteins affected different cellular processes of neural stem/progenitor cells, all these cellular processes participate in the development of forebrain conformation and, therefore, the future functionality of it. In addition, defects in regulation of neural stem/progenitor cells cellular processes may lead to congenital neural disorders in mice and humans. Thus, these results also increase our overall comprehension of the developmental cellular processes behind the different neural congenital disorders and diseases.