The cytoskeleton gives cells their shape and helps them move. Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the Ludwig Maximilian University now show that, in neural stem cells, proteins of the cytoskeleton are also found in the cell nucleus, where they can influence developmental programs. Using the protein MAP1B as an example, they explain how this previously underestimated connection may contribute to abnormal brain development. The results are published in the journal Cell.
During brain development, neural stem cells gradually give rise to specialized nerve cells. What matters is not only which cell types are formed, but also when they arise and how they then find their place in the developing tissue – for example in the cerebral cortex. Researchers have often studied these processes on two separate levels: in the cytoskeleton, the cell's internal scaffold that enables shape and movement, and in the nucleus, where genetic programs are regulated.
A team led by Prof. Magdalena Götz, Director of the Institute of Stem Cell Research at Helmholtz Munich and Professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University, now shows that this separation is too simple. In the nuclei of neural stem cells, the researchers found numerous proteins of the cytoskeleton. Surprisingly, these proteins were present in the nucleus in large numbers and appear to be involved in developmental programs. One of these proteins is MAP1B – a protein whose mutations are linked to developmental disorders of the brain.
