The apical ectodermal ridge (AER) is an essential structure for vertebrate limb development. Wnt3a is expressed during the induction of the chick AER, and misexpression of Wnt3a induces ectopic expression of AER-specific genes in the limb ectoderm. The genes ␤-catenin and Lef1 can mimic the effect of Wnt3a, and blocking the intrinsic Lef1 activity disrupts AER formation. Hence, Wnt3a functions in AER formation through the ␤-catenin/LEF1 pathway. In contrast, neither ␤-catenin nor Lef1 affects the Wnt7a-regulated dorsoventral polarity of the limb. Thus, two related Wnt genes elicit distinct responses in the same tissues by using different intracellular pathways.

Differentiation of CNS glia is regulated by Notch signaling through neuron-glia interaction. Here, we identified Delta/Notch-like EGF-related receptor (DNER), a neuron-specific transmembrane protein, as a previously unknown ligand of Notch during cellular morphogenesis of Bergmann glia in the mouse cerebellum. DNER binds to Notch1 at cell-cell contacts and activates Notch signaling in vitro. In the developing cerebellum, DNER is highly expressed in Purkinje cell dendrites, which are tightly associated with radial fibers of Bergmann glia expressing Notch. DNER specifically binds to Bergmann glia in culture and induces process extension by activating gamma-secretase- and Deltex-dependent Notch signaling. Inhibition of Deltex-dependent, but not RBP-J-dependent, Notch signaling in Bergmann glia suppresses formation and maturation of radial fibers in organotypic slice cultures. Additionally, deficiency of DNER retards the formation of radial fibers and results in abnormal arrangement of Bergmann glia. Thus, DNER mediates neuron-glia interaction and promotes morphological differentiation of Bergmann glia through Deltex-dependent Notch signaling.

During neuronal migration in the developing brain, it is thought that the centrosome precedes the nucleus and provides a cue for nuclear migration along the microtubules. In time-lapse imaging studies of radially migrating granule cells in mouse cerebellar slices, we observed that the movements of the nucleus and centrosome appeared to occur independently of each other. The nucleus often migrated ahead of the centrosome during its saltatory movement, negating the supposed role of the centrosome in pulling the nucleus. The nucleus was associated with dynamic microtubules enveloping the entire nucleus and stable microtubules extending from the leading process to the anterior part of the nucleus. Neither of these perinuclear microtubules converged at the centrosome. Disruption or excess formation of stable microtubules attenuated nuclear migration, indicating that the configuration of stable microtubules is crucial for nuclear migration. The inhibition of LIS1 function, a regulator of a microtubule motor dynein, specifically blocks nuclear migration without affecting the coupling of the centrosome and microtubules in the leading process, suggesting that movements of the nucleus and centrosome are differentially regulated by dynein motor function. Thus, the nucleus moves along the microtubules independently of the position of the centrosome in migrating neurons.neuronal migration ͉ nucleus ͉ LIS1 ͉ acetylated tubulin ͉ tyrosinated tubulin