The effect of P85 on neuronal proliferation and differentiation during development of mouse cerebral cortex

Proliferation of neural stem cells and differentiation of newly generated cells are crucial steps during the development of mammalian neocortex, which are able to generate suitable number of neurons and glial cells to ensure normal formation of cortex. Any disturbance in these processes leads to structural and functional abnormalities of cerebral cortex, such as epilepsy or intellectual disability. Numerous molecules involved in the development of disorders of the nervous system have been discovered in the recent years. The PI3K/AKT signaling pathway has been shown to be widely involved in the corticogenesis. Recently we could show that overexpression of regulatory subunit P85 of PI3K disrupts neuronal migration. However, it remains unclear whether the regulatory subunit P85 plays a role in the proliferation of neural stem cells and differentiation of newly generated cells during mouse brain development. Here, by using in utero electroporation and immunohistochemistry, we show that overexpression of P85 inhibited proliferation of neural progenitor cells and neuronal differentiation. By using 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling, we reveal that overexpression of P85 extended the cell cycle duration, which may result in developmental retardation during mouse corticogenesis.