β-Catenin is critical for cerebellar foliation and lamination

PLoS One. 2013 May 17;8(5):e64451. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064451. Print 2013.

Abstract

The cerebellum has a conserved foliation pattern and a well-organized layered structure. The process of foliation and lamination begins around birth. β-catenin is a downstream molecule of Wnt signaling pathway, which plays a critical role in tissue organization. Lack of β-catenin at early embryonic stages leads to either prenatal or neonatal death, therefore it has been difficult to resolve its role in cerebellar foliation and lamination. Here we used GFAP-Cre to ablate β-catenin in neuronal cells of the cerebellum after embryonic day 12.5, and found an unexpected role of β-catenin in determination of the foliation pattern. In the mutant mice, the positions of fissure formation were changed, and the meninges were improperly incorporated into fissures. At later stages, some lobules were formed by Purkinje cells remaining in deep regions of the cerebellum and the laminar structure was dramatically altered. Our results suggest that β-catenin is critical for cerebellar foliation and lamination. We also found a non cell-autonomous role of β-catenin in some developmental properties of major cerebellar cell types during specific stages.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cerebellum / growth & development*
  • Cerebellum / metabolism*
  • Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein
  • Histological Techniques
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Mice
  • Morphogenesis / physiology*
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins / metabolism
  • Neurons / metabolism*
  • RNA, Small Interfering / genetics
  • beta Catenin / metabolism*

Substances

  • Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • beta Catenin
  • glial fibrillary astrocytic protein, mouse

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the Major State Basic Research Program of China (2011CB504400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31190060; 81221003;30730037; 30870834), and PCSIRT. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.