Melton Kristin R, Iulianella Angelo, Trainor Paul A
Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 E. 50th Street, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA.
Front Biosci. 2004 Jan 1;9:117-38. doi: 10.2741/1202.
The formation of the central nervous system is one of the most fascinating processes in biology. Motor coordination, sensory perception and memory all depend on the complex cell connections that form with extraordinary precision between distinct nerve cell types within the central nervous system. The development of the central nervous system and its intricate connections occurs in several steps. During the first step known as neural induction, the neural plate forms as a uniform sheet of neuronal progenitors. Neural induction is followed by neurulation, the process in which the two halves of the neural plate are transformed into a hollow tube. Neurulation is accompanied by regionalisation of the neural tube anterior-posteriorly into the brain and spinal cord and dorso-ventrally into neural crest cells and numerous classes of sensory and motor neurons. The proper development of the vertebrate central nervous system requires the precise, finely balanced control of cell specification and proliferation, which is achieved through the complex interplay of multiple signaling systems. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), retinoic acid (RA) fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), Wnt and Hedgehog proteins are a few key factors that interact to pattern the developing central nervous system. In this review, we detail our current knowledge of the roles of these signaling factors in the development of the vertebrate nervous system in terms of the mechanisms underlying the formation and specification of the hindbrain and spinal cord.
中枢神经系统的形成是生物学中最引人入胜的过程之一。运动协调、感觉感知和记忆都依赖于中枢神经系统内不同神经细胞类型之间以极高精度形成的复杂细胞连接。中枢神经系统及其复杂连接的发育分几个步骤进行。在称为神经诱导的第一步中，神经板形成为一层均匀的神经元祖细胞。神经诱导之后是神经胚形成，即神经板的两半转化为空心管的过程。神经胚形成伴随着神经管在前后方向上分化为脑和脊髓，在背腹方向上分化为神经嵴细胞以及众多类型的感觉和运动神经元。脊椎动物中枢神经系统的正常发育需要对细胞特化和增殖进行精确、精细平衡的控制，这是通过多种信号系统的复杂相互作用实现的。骨形态发生蛋白（BMPs）、视黄酸（RA）、成纤维细胞生长因子（FGFs）、Wnt和刺猬蛋白是相互作用以塑造发育中的中枢神经系统的一些关键因素。在这篇综述中，我们根据后脑和脊髓形成及特化的潜在机制，详细阐述了我们目前对这些信号因子在脊椎动物神经系统发育中作用的认识。
