Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2025

Dissection and Culture of Commissural Neurons from Embryonic Spinal Cord
Published on: May 25, 2010
The subcommissural organ regulates brain development via secreted peptides
Tingting Zhang1,2, Daosheng Ai1,2, Pingli Wei3
1Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
The subcommissural organ (SCO) is a gland located at the entrance of the aqueduct of Sylvius in the brain. It exists in species as distantly related as amphioxus and humans, but its function is largely unknown. Here, to explore its function, we compared transcriptomes of SCO and non-SCO brain regions and found three genes, Sspo, Car3 and Spdef, that are highly expressed in the SCO. Mouse strains expressing Cre recombinase from endogenous promoter/enhancer elements of these genes were used to genetically ablate SCO cells during embryonic development, resulting in severe hydrocephalus and defects in neuronal migration and development of neuronal axons and dendrites. Unbiased peptidomic analysis revealed enrichment of three SCO-derived peptides, namely, thymosin beta 4, thymosin beta 10 and NP24, and their reintroduction into SCO-ablated brain ventricles substantially rescued developmental defects. Together, these data identify a critical role for the SCO in brain development.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Food Intake
Hormonal Regulation
Hormones of the Pituitary Gland
The most abundantly secreted hormone from the anterior lobe is the growth hormone, which controls overall growth by...
Neural Regulation
Regulation of Hormone Secretion
Humoral...
Diencephalon: Hypothalamus and Coordination
The hypothalamus interacts with other brain regions, including the pituitary gland, through a direct physical connection called the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. The hypothalamus receives somatic and visceral inputs and...

