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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Live Imaging of Mitosis in the Developing Mouse Embryonic Cortex
Published on: June 4, 2014
Mechanisms regulating cell number and type in the mammalian central nervous system
R McKay1, N Valtz, M Cunningham
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
Abstract:
In the developing brain, neurons are derived from multipotential precursor cells in a precise sequence, where the time when a neuron becomes postmitotic is closely linked to the differentiated function of the neuron. Work from our group (1) identifies the Nes+ neuronal precursor state, (2) defines growth factors that regulate the proliferation of Nes+ precursor cells and their differentiation into neurons, and (3) establishes immortal cell lines that may be useful models for the terminal differentiation of Nes+ cells into neurons and astrocytes. These results suggest that the basic technical requirements are now in place to define the signals that control the transition from a precursor cell to a postmitotic neuron in the mammalian CNS. Control of this terminal differentiation is a key step in generating the large numbers and types of cells in the CNS.
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