The roles and specificities of the regulators for small GTP-binding proteins in the regulation of neuronal cell location

大脑皮层在哺乳动物中尤其发育，最近利用切片培养、体内基因表达、基因敲除小鼠和成像系统的研究已经阐明了大脑皮层神经元回路的结构和发育过程。Rho家族的小GTP酶在细胞中起着分子开关的作用，调节细胞骨架，从而控制细胞的迁移和培养细胞的突起生长。然而，它们在大脑皮层发育中的作用还没有被很好地理解。在本研究中，我们研究了RhoG在发育中的小鼠大脑皮层中的作用，发现RhoG促进了神经前体细胞的增殖。

Cerebral cortex is developed particularly in mammals, and recent studies using slice culture, in vivo gene expression, knockout mice, and imaging system have elucidated the structure of neuronal circuit and developmental process in the cerebral cortex. Rho family small GTPases act as molecular switches in cells and regulate cytoskeleton to control cell migration and neurite outgrowth in cultured cells. However, their roles in the development of cerebral cortex have not yet well understood. In this study, we studied the role of RhoG in the developing mouse cerebral cortex and found that RhoG promoted neuronal progenitor cell proliferation.