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Expression of EphA8‐Fc in transgenic mouse embryos induces apoptosis of neural epithelial cells during brain development
Author(s) -
Kim Yujin,
Park Eunjeong,
Noh Hyuna,
Park Soochul
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
developmental neurobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.716
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1932-846X
pISSN - 1932-8451
DOI - 10.1002/dneu.22092
Subject(s) - biology , apoptosis , embryo , genetically modified mouse , microbiology and biotechnology , transgene , neural development , neuroscience , embryogenesis , neural stem cell , gene , genetics , stem cell
EphAs and ephrin‐As are expressed in multiple regions of the developing brain and have been implicated in regulating brain size. Here, we report the identification of a novel mechanism in which reverse signaling through ephrin‐As controls neural epithelial cell number in the developing brain. Ectopic expression of EphA8‐Fc in transgenic embryos induced apoptosis of neural epithelial cells, which was accompanied by a dramatic decrease in brain size. The number of ephrin‐A5‐expressing cells was significantly reduced in the brain region where EphA8‐Fc was ectopically expressed. Furthermore, in vitro culture of the dissociated neuroepithelial cells revealed that EphA8‐Fc enhanced apoptotic cell death of the ephrinA5‐expressing cells in a caspase‐dependent manner. Thus, our results suggest that reverse signaling through ephrin‐As is biochemically linked with caspase‐dependent proapoptotic signaling during early brain development. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 73: 702–712, 2013