Imbalanced neurogenesis and gliogenesis in the developing neocortex of mice lacking the proteoglycan Tsukushi

This sequence of events is orchestrated by a complex network of transcriptional regulators and extracellular signals ensuring a proper balance between cortical expansion, and the production of neurons and glia.

Altough the transcription factors governing progenitor self-renewal, neurogenesis and gliogenesis are largely known, the extracellular cues modulating these processes are less understood. Here, we investigate neocortical development in mice lacking the proteoglycan Tsukushi (TSK), which bear hydrocephalus with neurological deficits. We show that TSK is expressed in the cortical plate, where differentiating neurons and glia migrate to form the cortical layers.