Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Published Online August 10, 2006
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1130042

Research Articles

Submitted on May 16, 2006
Accepted on July 18, 2006

Hoxa2- and Rhombomere-Dependent Development of the Mouse Facial Somatosensory Map

Franck Oury 1, Yasunori Murakami 1, Jean-Sebastien Renaud 2, Massimo Pasqualetti 3, Patrick Charnay 4, Shu-Yue Ren 5, Filippo M. Rijli 1*

1 Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS/INSERM/ULP, UMR 7104, BP 10142, CU de Strasbourg, 67404 Illkirch Cedex, France.
2 Department of Physiology, Institute of Basic Medical Science, University of Oslo, 0317 Oslo, Norway.
3 Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS/INSERM/ULP, UMR 7104, BP 10142, CU de Strasbourg, 67404 Illkirch Cedex, France; Present address: Laboratori di Biologia Cellulare e dello Sviluppo, Università di Pisa, Via G. Carducci 13, Pisa, Italy.
4 INSERM, U784, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 46 rue d'Ulm, 75230 Paris Cedex 05, France.
5 Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS/INSERM/ULP, UMR 7104, BP 10142, CU de Strasbourg, 67404 Illkirch Cedex, France; Present address: Center for Biotechnology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Filippo M. Rijli , E-mail: rijli{at}igbmc.u-strasbg.fr

In the mouse trigeminal pathway, sensory inputs from distinct facial structures, such as whiskers or lower jaw and lip, are topographically mapped onto the somatosensory cortex, via relay stations in the thalamus and hindbrain. In the developing hindbrain, the mechanisms generating such maps remain elusive. We find that in the principal sensory nucleus the whisker-related map is uniquely contributed by rhombomere 3-derived neurons, whereas the rhombomere 2-derived progeny supplies the lower jaw-lip representation. Moreover, early Hoxa2 expression in neuroepithelium prevents the trigeminal nerve from ectopically projecting to the cerebellum, whereas late expression in the principal sensory nucleus promotes selective arborization of whisker-related afferents and topographic connectivity to the thalamus. Hoxa2 inactivation further results in absence of whisker-related maps in the postnatal brain. Thus, Hoxa2 and rhombomere 3-dependent cues determine the whisker area map and are required for the assembly of the whisker-to-barrel somatosensory circuit.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Hoxb1 Controls Cell Fate Specification and Proliferative Capacity of Neural Stem and Progenitor Cells.
M. Gouti and A. Gavalas (2008)
Stem Cells 26, 1985-1997
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Loss of Hoxb8 alters spinal dorsal laminae and sensory responses in mice.
J. C. Holstege, W. de Graaff, M. Hossaini, S. C. Cano, D. Jaarsma, E. van den Akker, and J. Deschamps (2008)
PNAS 105, 6338-6343
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
In DRG11 Knock-Out Mice, Trigeminal Cell Death Is Extensive and Does Not Account for Failed Brainstem Patterning.
M. F. Jacquin, J. J. A. Arends, C. Xiang, L. A. Shapiro, C. E. Ribak, and Z.-F. Chen (2008)
J. Neurosci. 28, 3577-3585
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

ADVERTISEMENT
Click Me!

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)