The exon junction complex component Magoh controls brain size by regulating neural stem cell division.
Brain structure and size require precise division of neural stem cells (NSCs), which self-renew and generate intermediate neural progenitors (INPs) and neurons. The factors that regulate NSCs remain poorly understood, and mechanistic explanations of how aberrant NSC division causes the reduced brain size seen in microcephaly are lacking. Here we show that Magoh, a component of the exon junction complex (EJC) that binds RNA, controls mouse cerebral cortical size by regulating NSC division. Magoh haploinsufficiency causes microcephaly because of INP depletion and neuronal apoptosis. Defective mitosis underlies these phenotypes, as depletion of EJC components disrupts mitotic spindle orientation and integrity, chromosome number and genomic stability. In utero rescue experiments showed that a key function of Magoh is to control levels of the microcephaly-associated protein Lis1 during neurogenesis. Our results uncover requirements for the EJC in brain development, NSC maintenance and mitosis, thereby implicating this complex in the pathogenesis of microcephaly.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Transfection
- T-Box Domain Proteins
- Stem Cells
- Repressor Proteins
- RNA, Messenger
- RNA Interference
- Paired Box Transcription Factors
- PAX6 Transcription Factor
- Organ Size
- Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Transfection
- T-Box Domain Proteins
- Stem Cells
- Repressor Proteins
- RNA, Messenger
- RNA Interference
- Paired Box Transcription Factors
- PAX6 Transcription Factor
- Organ Size
- Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis