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Instructions for the hippocampus

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 9, pages 164–165 (2008)Cite this article

Previous studies from both groups showed that Lhx2 is present in the cortex but absent from the hem, and that Lhx2-knockout mice have an expanded cortical hem and lack cortical tissue, including the hippocampus. However, it was unclear whether this was due to a requirement for Lhx2 in stem-cell proliferation or to a cell-autonomous effect on the specification of cortical stem cells.

This issue has been resolved by generating two types of mosaic embryos, using either Lhx2-null embryonic stem cells or conditional Lhx2-knockout mice. In these embryos, only wild-type cells acquired a cortical fate. In normal embryos, cortical neuroepithelium forms between two non-cortical structures: the hem (medially), which produces Cajal–Retzius cells; and the anti-hem (laterally), which gives rise to much of the amygdaloid complex. Correspondingly, Lhx2-null patches revealed a spatial dependence, expressing cortical-hem markers if located in the medial cortex and anti-hem markers if located laterally. Hippocampal fields appeared adjacent to ectopic hem patches, complete with radial-glia palisades, which guide the migration of hippocampal cells in proper order. This indicates that ectopic hem patches can direct both the specification and the organization of hippocampi.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Mangale, V. S. et al. Lhx2 selector activity specifies cortical identity and suppresses hippocampal organizer fate. Science 319, 304–309 (2008)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Bulchand, S. et al. LIM-homeodomain gene Lhx2 regulates the formation of the cortical hem. Mech. Dev. 100, 165–175 (2001)

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  2. Monuki, E. S. et al. Patterning of the dorsal telencephalon and cerebral cortex by a roof plate-Lhx2 pathway. Neuron 32, 591–604 (2001)

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Authors
  1. Monica Hoyos Flight
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Flight, M. Instructions for the hippocampus. Nat Rev Neurosci 9, 164–165 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2341

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2341

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