The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Ministry of Education, Institute of Life Sciences, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, Nanjing, 210096, China.
Neurosciences & Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X8, Canada.
Mol Brain. 2019 Jul 18;12(1):67. doi: 10.1186/s13041-019-0487-7.
LIMK1 and LIMK2 are key downstream targets to mediate the effects of the Rho family small GTPases and p21-activated kinases (PAK) in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. LIMKs are also critical for synaptic transmission, plasticity and memory formation. Changes in LIMK signaling are associated with several neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, including autism, intellectual disability and Alzheimer's disease. However, the role of LIMK signaling in brain development remains unknown. In this study, we used LIMK1 KO and LIMK2 KO mice to investigate the role of LIMK signaling in the cerebral cortical development. We found that these KO mice are reduced in the number of pyramidal neurons in upper cortical layers and this reduction is accompanied by a smaller pool of neural progenitor cells and impaired neuronal migration. These results are similar to those found in PAK1 KO mice and suggest that LIMK-dependent actin regulation may play a key role in mediating the effects of PAK1 and Rho signaling in the regulation of cortical development.
LIMK1 和 LIMK2 是介导 Rho 家族小 GTP 酶和 p21 激活激酶 (PAK) 作用的关键下游靶标,在调节肌动蛋白细胞骨架方面发挥重要作用。LIMK 对于突触传递、可塑性和记忆形成也至关重要。LIMK 信号的改变与多种神经发育和神经退行性疾病有关,包括自闭症、智力障碍和阿尔茨海默病。然而,LIMK 信号在大脑发育中的作用尚不清楚。在这项研究中,我们使用 LIMK1 KO 和 LIMK2 KO 小鼠来研究 LIMK 信号在大脑皮层发育中的作用。我们发现,这些 KO 小鼠在上层皮层的锥体神经元数量减少,而这一减少伴随着神经祖细胞数量减少和神经元迁移受损。这些结果与 PAK1 KO 小鼠的结果相似,表明 LIMK 依赖性肌动蛋白调节可能在介导 PAK1 和 Rho 信号在调节皮层发育中的作用中发挥关键作用。