Apical movement during interkinetic nuclear migration is a two-step process

Neural progenitor cells in the pseudostratified neuroepithelium in vertebrates undergo interkinetic nuclear migration, which results in mitotic cells localized to the apical surface. Interphase nuclei are distributed throughout the rest of the epithelium. How mitosis is coordinated with nuclear movement is unknown, and the mechanism by which the nucleus migrates apically is controversial. Using time-lapse confocal microscopy, we show that nuclei migrate apically in G2 phase via microtubules. However, late in G2, centrosomes leave the apical surface after cilia are disassembled, and mitosis initiates away from the apical surface. The mitotic cell then rounds up to the apical surface, which is an actin-dependent process. This behavior is observed in both chicken neural-tube-slice preparations and in mouse cortical slices, and therefore is likely to be a general feature of interkinetic nuclear migration. We propose a new model for interkinetic nuclear migration in which actin and microtubules are used to position the mitotic cell at the apical surface.