During brain development, neurons migrate stereotypically to establish the correct neuronal circuitry. T-box transcription factors control the development of many migrating cells but do they have a role in the developing CNS? On p. 4945,Samuel Pfaff and coworkers reveal that Tbx20 regulates the cell body migration of several types of mouse cranial motor neurons. The researchers show that migrating branchiomotor/visceromotor (BM/VM) neurons in the hindbrain express Tbx20 during neuronal circuit formation. By generating conditional mutant mice in which Tbx20 was deleted in neurons, the authors show that the migration patterns of BM/VM neurons are disrupted in the absence of Tbx20, while hindbrain patterning and post-mitotic motor neuron generation remain normal. In particular, the authors show that facial motor neuron migration defects are associated with the down-regulation of multiple key components of the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway. Thus, the authors conclude, Tbx20 regulates facial motor neuron migration by controlling the PCP pathway while regulating the migration of other BM/VM neurons by a different means.
Tbx20: a program for migration
Tbx20: a program for migration. Development 15 December 2006; 133 (24): e2403. doi:
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