The small GTPases RhoA and Rac1 regulate cerebellar development by controlling cell morphogenesis, migration and foliation.

ABSTRACT: The small GTPases RhoA and Rac1 are key cytoskeletal regulators that function in a mutually antagonistic manner to control the migration and morphogenesis of a broad range of cell types. However, their role in shaping the cerebellum, a unique brain structure composed of an elaborate set of folia separated by fissures of different lengths, remains largely unexplored. Here we show that dysregulation of both RhoA and Rac1 signaling results in abnormal cerebellar ontogenesis. Ablation of RhoA from neuroprogenitor cells drastically alters the timing and placement of fissure formation, the migration and positioning of granule and Purkinje cells, the alignment of Bergmann glia, and the integrity of the basement membrane, primarily in the anterior lobules. Furthermore, in the absence of RhoA, gran

SUBMITTER: Mulherkar S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4163514 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature