Abstract
Research from the last 15 years has provided a working model for how the anterior forebrain is induced and specified during the early stages of embryogenesis. This model relies on three basic processes: (1) induction of the neural plate from naive ectoderm requires the inhibition of BMP/TGFβ signaling; (2) induced neural tissue initially acquires an anterior identity (i.e., anterior forebrain); (3) maintenance and expansion of the anterior forebrain depends on the antagonism of posteriorizing signals that would otherwise transform this tissue into posterior neural fates. In this review, we present a historical perspective examining some of the significant experiments that have helped to delineate this molecular model. In addition, we discuss the function of the relevant tissues that act prior to and during gastrulation to ensure proper anterior forebrain formation. Finally, we elaborate data, mainly obtained from the analyses of mouse mutants, supporting a role for transcriptional repressors in the regulation of cell competence within the anterior forebrain. The aim of this review is to provide the reader with a general overview of the signals as well as the signaling centers that control the development of the anterior neural plate.
Highlights
The overall anatomical structure of the mature vertebrate brain has been highly preserved throughout evolution, the degree of development of particular domains can vary enormously between species
The relevance for the ANB was demonstrated in mouse embryos by means of ablation experiments where FGF8 was found to act as an essential signal for normal development of the anterior forebrain [130], which was further confirmed in several genetic studies [100, 110, 111, 139]
We summarized a great deal of research pointing at the requirement for the anterior neural plate to be protected from signals that would transform it into posterior neural tissue
Summary
The overall anatomical structure of the mature vertebrate brain has been highly preserved throughout evolution, the degree of development of particular domains can vary enormously between species. Genetic evidence demonstrated the requirement of several of these genes in the AVE for normal antero-posterior axis formation and anterior forebrain development [1, 38, 70, 71, 101, 114, 117, 127, 151, 161].
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