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Development

It's not just a gap

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 8, page 759 (2007)Cite this article

During brain development, the future pyramidal neurons migrate from their origin in the cortical ventricular zone to the cortical plate along guiding fibres that are extended by radial glia. Using immunohistochemistry, Elias et al. visualized the gap-junction subunits connexin-26 (CX26) and -43 (CX43) in both radial glial fibres and in the migrating neurons, and observed that the connexins often localize precisely at points of contact between the two cells. The authors then used RNA-interference technology to examine the functional effects of CX26 and CX43 silencing in the developing brain, and found marked impairment in neural migration. Furthermore, control experiments showed that this defect was not a consequence of impaired cell-cycle exit, differentiation or cell death.

...the adhesive, but not the channel, properties of gap junctions are essential for neural migration.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Elias, L. A. B. et al. Gap junction adhesion is necessary for radial migration in the neocortex. Nature 448, 901–907 (2007)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Goodenough, D. A. & Paul, D. L. Beyond the gap: functions of unpaired connexon channels. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 4, 285–294 (2003)

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  1. Locum Editor, Nature,

    Francesca Cesari

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  1. Francesca Cesari
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Cesari, F. It's not just a gap. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 8, 759 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm2268

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