ABSTRACT
The precise control of neural crest stem cell delamination, migration and differentiation ensures proper craniofacial and head development. Sox2 shapes the ontogeny of the cranial neural crest to ensure precision of the cell flow in the developing head. Here, we review how Sox2 orchestrates signals that control these complex developmental processes.
Subject(s)
Neural Crest , SOXB1 Transcription Factors , Cell Differentiation , HumansABSTRACT
The cerebellum, a derivative of the hindbrain, plays a crucial role in balance and posture as well as in higher cognitive and locomotive processes. Cerebellar development is initiated during the segmental phase of hindbrain formation. Here, we describe the phenotype, of a single surviving adult conditional mouse mutant mouse, in which Sox2 function is ablated in embryonic radial glial cells by means of hGFAP-CRE. The single Sox2RGINV/mosaic adult mutant mouse displays motor disability, microsomia, reduced Central Nervous System (CNS) size and cerebellar defects associated with human genetically related congenital abnormalities.
ABSTRACT
Precise control of neural progenitor transformation into neural crest stem cells ensures proper craniofacial and head development. In the neural progenitor pool, SoxB factors play an essential role as cell fate determinants of neural development, whereas during neural crest stem cell formation, Sox2 plays a predominant role as a guardian of the developmental clock that ensures precision of cell flow in the developing head.