Anatomical Development of the Cerebellothalamic Tract in Embryonic Mice
The main connection from cerebellum to cerebrum is formed by cerebellar nuclei axons that synapse in the thalamus. Apart from its role in coordinating sensorimotor integration in the adult brain, the cerebello-thalamic tract (CbT) has also been implicated in developmental disorders, such as autism s...
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| author | Daniël B. Dumas Simona V. Gornati Youri Adolfs Tomomi Shimogori R. Jeroen Pasterkamp Freek E. Hoebeek |
| author_facet | Daniël B. Dumas Simona V. Gornati Youri Adolfs Tomomi Shimogori R. Jeroen Pasterkamp Freek E. Hoebeek |
| author_sort | Daniël B. Dumas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The main connection from cerebellum to cerebrum is formed by cerebellar nuclei axons that synapse in the thalamus. Apart from its role in coordinating sensorimotor integration in the adult brain, the cerebello-thalamic tract (CbT) has also been implicated in developmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders. Although the development of the cerebellum, thalamus and cerebral cortex have been studied, there is no detailed description of the ontogeny of the mammalian CbT. Here we investigated the development of the CbT at embryonic stages using transgenic <i>Ntsr1-Cre/Ai14</i> mice and in utero electroporation of wild type mice. Wide-field, confocal and 3D light-sheet microscopy of immunohistochemical stainings showed that CbT fibers arrive in the prethalamus between E14.5 and E15.5, but only invade the thalamus after E16.5. We quantified the spread of CbT fibers throughout the various thalamic nuclei and found that at E17.5 and E18.5 the ventrolateral, ventromedial and parafascicular nuclei, but also the mediodorsal and posterior complex, become increasingly innervated. Several CbT fiber varicosities express vesicular glutamate transporter type 2 at E18.5, indicating cerebello-thalamic synapses. Our results provide the first quantitative data on the developing murine CbT, which provides guidance for future investigations of the impact that cerebellum has on thalamo-cortical networks during development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:51:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bfe0e94120214b8581f2c77962f526fc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4409 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:51:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cells |
| spelling | doaj.art-bfe0e94120214b8581f2c77962f526fc2023-11-24T10:44:01ZengMDPI AGCells2073-44092022-11-011123380010.3390/cells11233800Anatomical Development of the Cerebellothalamic Tract in Embryonic MiceDaniël B. Dumas0Simona V. Gornati1Youri Adolfs2Tomomi Shimogori3R. Jeroen Pasterkamp4Freek E. Hoebeek5Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 AA Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 AA Rotterdam, The NetherlandsDepartment of Translational Neuroscience, MIND Facility, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, University of Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, The NetherlandsRIKEN Center for Brain Science, Laboratory for Molecular Mechanisms of Brain Development, Wako City 351-0198, JapanDepartment of Translational Neuroscience, MIND Facility, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, University of Utrecht, 3584 CX Utrecht, The NetherlandsDepartment of Neuroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 AA Rotterdam, The NetherlandsThe main connection from cerebellum to cerebrum is formed by cerebellar nuclei axons that synapse in the thalamus. Apart from its role in coordinating sensorimotor integration in the adult brain, the cerebello-thalamic tract (CbT) has also been implicated in developmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders. Although the development of the cerebellum, thalamus and cerebral cortex have been studied, there is no detailed description of the ontogeny of the mammalian CbT. Here we investigated the development of the CbT at embryonic stages using transgenic <i>Ntsr1-Cre/Ai14</i> mice and in utero electroporation of wild type mice. Wide-field, confocal and 3D light-sheet microscopy of immunohistochemical stainings showed that CbT fibers arrive in the prethalamus between E14.5 and E15.5, but only invade the thalamus after E16.5. We quantified the spread of CbT fibers throughout the various thalamic nuclei and found that at E17.5 and E18.5 the ventrolateral, ventromedial and parafascicular nuclei, but also the mediodorsal and posterior complex, become increasingly innervated. Several CbT fiber varicosities express vesicular glutamate transporter type 2 at E18.5, indicating cerebello-thalamic synapses. Our results provide the first quantitative data on the developing murine CbT, which provides guidance for future investigations of the impact that cerebellum has on thalamo-cortical networks during development.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/23/3800cerebello-thalamic tractembryonic developmentcerebellumthalamusmouse |
| spellingShingle | Daniël B. Dumas Simona V. Gornati Youri Adolfs Tomomi Shimogori R. Jeroen Pasterkamp Freek E. Hoebeek Anatomical Development of the Cerebellothalamic Tract in Embryonic Mice Cells cerebello-thalamic tract embryonic development cerebellum thalamus mouse |
| title | Anatomical Development of the Cerebellothalamic Tract in Embryonic Mice |
| title_full | Anatomical Development of the Cerebellothalamic Tract in Embryonic Mice |
| title_fullStr | Anatomical Development of the Cerebellothalamic Tract in Embryonic Mice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Anatomical Development of the Cerebellothalamic Tract in Embryonic Mice |
| title_short | Anatomical Development of the Cerebellothalamic Tract in Embryonic Mice |
| title_sort | anatomical development of the cerebellothalamic tract in embryonic mice |
| topic | cerebello-thalamic tract embryonic development cerebellum thalamus mouse |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/11/23/3800 |
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