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The establishment of appropriate neural circuitry depends upon the coordination of multiple developmental events across space and time. These events include proliferation, migration, differentiation, and survival - all of which can be mediated by hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) signaling through the Met receptor tyrosine kinase. We previously found a functional promoter variant of the MET gene to be associated with autism spectrum disorder, suggesting that forebrain circuits governing social and emotional function may be especially vulnerable to developmental disruptions in HGF/Met signaling. However, little is known about the spatiotemporal distribution of Met expression in the forebrain during the development of such circuits. To advance our understanding of the neurodevelopmental influences of Met activation, we employed complementary Western blotting, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to comprehensively map Met transcript and protein expression throughout perinatal and postnatal development of the mouse forebrain. Our studies reveal complex and dynamic spatiotemporal patterns of expression during this period. Spatially, Met transcript is localized primarily to specific populations of projection neurons within the neocortex and in structures of the limbic system, including the amygdala, hippocampus and septum. Met protein appears to be principally located in axon tracts. Temporally, peak expression of transcript and protein occurs during the second postnatal week. This period is characterized by extensive neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis, supporting a role for the receptor in these processes. Collectively, these data suggest that Met signaling may be necessary for the appropriate wiring of forebrain circuits with particular relevance to social and emotional dimensions of behavior.

Human genetic findings and murine neuroanatomical expression mapping have intersected to implicate Met receptor tyrosine kinase signaling in the development of forebrain circuits controlling social and emotional behaviors that are atypical in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). To clarify roles for Met signaling during forebrain circuit development in vivo, we generated mutant mice (Emx1 Cre /Met fx/fx ) with an Emx1-Cre-driven deletion of signaling-competent Met in dorsal pallially-derived forebrain neurons. Morphometric analyses of Lucifer Yellow-injected pyramidal neurons in postnatal day 40 anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) revealed no statistically significant changes in total dendritic length, but a selective reduction in apical arbor length distal to the soma in Emx1 Cre /Met fx/fx neurons relative to wild type, consistent with a decrease in the total tissue volume sampled by individual arbors in the cortex. The effects on dendritic structure appear to be circuit-selective, as basal arbor length was increased in Emx1 Cre /Met fx/fx layer 2/3 neurons. Spine number was not altered on Emx1 Cre /Met fx/fx pyramidal cell populations studied, but spine head volume was significantly increased (~20%). Cell-nonautonomous, circuit-level influences of Met signaling on dendritic development were confirmed by studies of medium spiny neurons (MSN), which do not express Met, but receive Met-expressing corticostriatal afferents during development. Emx1 Cre /Met fx/fx MSN exhibited robust increases in total arbor length (~20%). Like in the neocortex, average spine head volume was also increased (~12%). These data demonstrate that a developmental loss of presynaptic Met receptor signaling can affect postsynaptic morphogenesis and suggest a mechanism whereby attenuated Met signaling could disrupt both local and long-range connectivity within circuits relevant to ASD.

A survival-promoting peptide has been purified from medium conditioned by Y79 human retinoblastoma cells and a mouse hippocampal cell line (HN 33.1) exposed to H 2 O 2 . A 30 residue synthetic peptide was made on the basis of N-terminal sequences obtained during purification, and it was found to exhibit gel mobility and staining properties similar to the purified molecules. The peptide maintains cells and their processes in vitro for the HN 33.1 cell line treated with H 2 O 2 , and in vivo for cortical neurons after lesions of the cerebral cortex. It has weak homology with a fragment of a putative bacterial antigen and, like that molecule, binds IgG. The peptide also contains a motif reminiscent of a critical sequence in the catalytic region of calcineurin-type phosphatases; surprisingly, like several members of this family, the peptide catalyzes the hydrolysis of para-nitrophenylphosphate in the presence of Mn 2ϩ . Application of the peptide to one side of bilateral cerebral cortex lesions centered on area 2 in rats results in an increase in IgG immunoreactivity in the vicinity of the lesions 7 d after surgery. Microglia immunopositive for IgG and ED-1 are, however, dramatically reduced around the lesions in the treated hemisphere. Furthermore, pyramidal neurons that would normally shrink, die, or disintegrate were maintained, as determined by MAP2 immunocytochemistry and Nissl staining. These survival effects were often found in both hemispheres. The results suggest that this peptide operates by diffusion to regulate the immune response and thereby rescue neurons that would usually degenerate after cortical lesions. The phosphatase activity of this molecule also suggests the potential for direct neuron survivalpromoting effects.

Regionalization of the cerebral cortex occurs during development by the formation of anatomically and functionally discrete areas of the brain. Descriptive evidence based on expression of molecules and structural features suggests that an early parcelation of the cerebral wall may occur during fetal development. Experimental strategies using tissue transplants and cell culture models have explored the nature of the timing of areal specification. New signaling systems displaying the sensitivity of precursor cells to environmental cues that define the fate of neurons destined for specific areas of the cortex have been discovered. Studies in the field now suggest mechanisms of regulating cell phenotype in the cortex that are common to all parts of the neuraxis.

The Cre/loxP system is used routinely to manipulate gene expression in the mouse nervous system. In order to delete genes specifically from the telencephalon, the Foxg1-cre line was created previously by replacing the intron-less Foxg1 coding region with cre, resulting in a Foxg1 heterozygous mouse. As the telencephalon of heterozygous Foxg1 mice was reported to be normal, this genotype often has been used as the control in subsequent analyses. Here we describe substantial disruption of forebrain development of heterozygous mice in the Foxg1-cre line, maintained on the C57BL/6J background. High resolution magnetic resonance microscopy reveals a significant reduction in the volume of the neocortex, hippocampus and striatum. The alteration in the neocortex results, in part, from a decrease in its tangential dimension, although gross patterning of the cortical sheet appears normal. This decrease is observed in three different Foxg1 heterozygous mouse lines, independent of the method of achieving deletion of the Foxg1 gene. Although Foxg1 is not expressed in the diencephalon, three-dimensional magnetic resonance microscopy revealed that thalamic volume in the adult is reduced. In contrast, at postnatal day 4, thalamic volume is normal, suggesting that interactions between cortex and dorsal thalamus postnatally produce the final adult thalamic phenotype. In the Foxg1-cre line maintained on the C57BL/6J background, the radial domain of the cerebral cortex also is disrupted substantially, particularly in supragranular layers. However, neither Foxg1 heterozygous mice of the Foxg1-tet line, nor those of the Foxg1-lacZ and Foxg1-cre lines maintained on a mixed background, displayed a reduced cortical thickness. Thus Cre recombinase contributes to the radial phenotype, although only in the context of the congenic C57BL/6J background. These observations highlight an important role for Foxg1 in cortical development, reveal noteworthy complexity in the invocation of specific mechanisms underlying phenotypes expressed following genetic manipulations and stress the importance of including appropriate controls of all genotypes. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Development of the cerebral cortex relies on extracellular cues and intrinsic signals that instruct the proliferation, differentiation and migration of neuronal precursors. The duration and location of these cues are critical to producing the final cortical architecture (FukuchiShimogori and Grove, 2001, Parnavelas et al., 2002, Rakic, 2002, Shimogori et al., 2004, Rash and Grove, 2006, Storm et al., 2006. The...

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) activation of the MET receptor tyrosine kinase influences multiple neurodevelopmental processes. Evidence from human imaging and mouse models shows that, in the forebrain, disruptions in MET signaling alter circuit formation and function. One likely means of modulation is by controlling neuron maturation. Here, we examined the signaling mechanisms through which MET exerts developmental effects in the neocortex. In situ hybridization revealed that hgf is located near MET-expressing neurons, including deep neocortical layers and periventricular zones. Western blot analyses of neocortical crude membranes demonstrated that HGF-induced MET autophosphorylation peaks during synaptogenesis, with a striking reduction in activation between P14 and P17 just prior to pruning. In vitro analysis of postnatal neocortical neurons assessed the roles of intracellular signaling following MET activation. There is rapid, HGF-induced phosphorylation of MET, ERK1/2 and Akt that is accompanied by two major morphological changes increases in total dendritic growth and synapse density. Selective inhibition of each signaling pathway altered only one of the two distinct events. MAPK/ERK pathway inhibition significantly reduced the HGF-induced increase in dendritic length, but had no effect on synapse density. In contrast, inhibition of the PI-3K/Akt pathway reduced HGF-induced increases in synapse density, with no effect on dendritic length. The data reveal a key role for MET activation during the period of neocortical neuron growth and synaptogenesis, with distinct biological outcomes mediated via discrete MET-linked intracellular signaling pathways in the same neurons.

We have previously shown that in adult mice with a null mutation in the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) gene, maintained on a C57BL/6J/129Sv background, there is a selective loss of GABAergic interneurons in anterior cingulate and parietal cortex, with the parvalbumin-expressing subpopulation preferentially affected. Here, we performed a more detailed anatomical analysis of uPAR(-/-) mutation on the congenic C57BL/6J background. With glutamic acid decarboxylase-67 and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) immunostaining, there is a similar region-selective loss of cortical interneurons in the congenic uPAR(-/-) mice from the earliest age examined (P21). In contrast, the loss of parvalbumin-immunoreactive cells is observed only in adult cortex, and the extent of this loss is less than in the mixed background. Moreover, earlier in development, although there are normal numbers of parvalbumin cells in the uPAR(-/-) cortex, fewer cells coexpress GABA, suggesting that the parvalbumin subpopulation migrates appropriately to the cortex, but does not differentiate normally. Among the other forebrain regions examined, only the adult hippocampus shows a loss of GABAergic interneurons, although the somatostatin, rather than the parvalbumin, subpopulation contributes to this loss. The data suggest that uPAR function is necessary for the normal development of a subpopulation of GABAergic neurons in the telencephalon. It is likely that the late-onset parvalbumin phenotype is due to the effects of an altered local environment on selectively vulnerable neurons and that the extent of this loss is strain dependent. Thus, an interplay between complex genetic factors and the environment may influence the phenotypic impact of the uPAR mutation both pre- and postnatally.