Gα12/Gα13 Deficiency Causes Localized Overmigration of Neurons in the Developing Cerebral and Cerebellar Cortices

The heterotrimeric G proteins G12 and G13 link G-protein-coupled receptors to the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and the induction of actomyosin-based cellular contractility. Here we show that conditional ablation of the genes encoding the α-subunits of G12 and G13 in the nervous system results in neuronal ectopia of the cerebral and cerebellar cortices due to overmigration of cortical plate neurons and cerebellar Purkinje cells, respectively. The organization of the radial glia and the basal lamina was not disturbed, and the Cajal-Retzius cell layer had formed normally in mutant mice. Embryonic cortical neurons lacking G12 /G13 were unable to retract their neurites in response to lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine-1-phosphate, indicating that they had lost the ability to respond to repulsive mediators acting via G-protein-coupled receptors. Our data indicate that G12 /G13 -coupled receptors mediate stop signals and are required for the proper positioning of migrating cortical plate neurons and Purkinje cells during development.