BMP signalling in the dorsal neural tube and the effect on dI2 and dI4 sensory interneuron differentiation

• Grant number: 24/14666-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Embryology
• Principal Investigator: Chao Yun Irene Yan
• Grantee: Beatriz Hirai Larocca de Paiva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The central nervous system of vertebrates originates from the embryonic neural tube, such that the organization observed in adults derives from the process of cell proliferation, migration and differentiation that occurs during neurogenesis. In this process, cells on proliferative, post-mitotic, and differentiated stages are located in central-peripheral zones. In addition, interneural lineages present a dorso-ventral organization, whose patterning is induced by the presence and distribution of morphogens from each pole of the axis (SHH, secreted by the notochord, located underneath the tube; and BMP, secreted by the dorsal epidermis). Progenitor cells are differentiated in distinct cell types based on their exposition to either morphogen. Therefore, as the tube evolves, the neurons gain distinct identities and occupy specific domains in the dorso-ventral axis. Each interneuron domain has a transcriptomic profile, which contributes to the formation of genetic networks that are in turn responsible for the differentiation of each cell subtype. As a result, the domains can be identified by the presence of specific proteins: dorsal interneurons (dI) 2,3, and 4 are labeled by transcription factors LHX1/5 (dI2 and dI4) and ISLET1 (dI3). The importance of BMP pathway in dI2 and dI4 differentiation are yet unclear. Here, we propose to identify BMP importance in acquisition of identity in LHX1/5 domains.