Int. J. Dev. Biol.

62: 225-234 (2018)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.170293jb
www.intjdevbiol.com

Sonic hedgehog in vertebrate neural tube development

MARYSIA PLACZEK1 and JAMES BRISCOE*,2
1
The Bateson Centre and Dept. of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield and
2
The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK

ABSTRACT The formation and wiring of the vertebrate nervous system involves the spatially and
temporally ordered production of diverse neuronal and glial subtypes that are molecularly and
functionally distinct. The chick embryo has been the experimental model of choice for many of the
studies that have led to our current understanding of this process, and has presaged and informed
a wide range of complementary genetic studies, in particular in the mouse. The versatility and trac-
tability of chick embryos means that it remains an important model system for many investigators
in the field. Here we will focus on the role of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling in coordinating the
diversification, patterning, growth and differentiation of the vertebrate nervous system.We highlight
how studies in chick led to the identification of the role Shh plays in the developing neural tube
and how subsequent work, including studies in the chick and the mouse revealed details of the cell
intrinsic programs controlling cell fate determination. We compare these mechanisms at different
rostral-caudal positions along the neuraxis and discuss the particular experimental attributes of
the chick that facilitated this work.

KEY WORDS: spinal cord, morphogen, chick, transcriptional network, central nervous system

Introduction tube (Das and Storey, 2014). This identified a novel cell biological
mechanism during neuronal differentiation in which the delamina-
The vertebrate nervous system arises from the neural tube, tion of newly differentiatied neurons involves the abscission of the
the development of which is initiated early in embryogenesis apical cell membrane through an actin-myosin–dependent cell
during gastrulation. In amniotes, the neural tube primoridium first constriction and dismantling of the primary cilium.
becomes recognizable as a thickened epithelium that forms over Although morphologically indistinguishable, neural progenitors
the midline of the embryo. As development progresses the centre rapidly acquire distinct transcriptional identities during develop-
of this epithelial sheet invaginates and its lateral edges rise, the ment; this determines the mature cell type(s) a progenitor pro-
eventual juxtaposition and fusion of these lateral edges forms the duces. In many regions of the nervous system, the transcriptional
dorsal midline of the neural tube (for a full introduction see (Gilbert, programmes depend on the position of the progenitor within the
2016)). Hence the neural tube develops as a bilaterally symmetrical neural tube, (Dessaud et al., 2008; Jessell, 2000; Briscoe and Small
pseudostratified epithelium in which the basal surfaces of neural 2015). For example, in the ventral half of the forming spinal cord
progenitor cells form the lateral edges of the neural tube and the (perhaps the simplest and most conserved region of the neural
apical surfaces are oriented towards the internal lumen, the central tube) the spatially restricted expression of a set of homeodomain
canal. Neural progenitors proliferate and their nuclei undergo a and bHLH transcription factors, which to a large extent were first
stereotypic interkinetic nuclear movement in which mitosis occurs defined in the chick (Ericson et al., 1997, Briscoe et al., 2000),
apically and S phase basally (Lee and Norden, 2013). This results divide the neuroepithelium into 6 discrete domains arrayed along
in a substantial expansion in the number of neural progenitors and the DV axis. Each domain expresses a distinct combination of
the initial phase of neural tube development is marked by a con- transcription factors. Gain- and loss-of-function studies have
siderable increase in tissue size (Kicheva et al., 2014). As neural shown that this code controls the differentiated cell type that each
progenitors differentiate into post-mitotic neurons they detach from progenitor generates (reviewed in (Alaynick et al., 2011; Dessaud
the apical surface of the neuroepithelium and migrate laterally to
reside basal to the cell bodies of progenitors, a process that can
be imaged in high resolution using slice cultures of the chick neural Abbreviations used in this paper: Shh, sonic hedgehog.

*Address correspondence to: James Briscoe. The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT, UK. Tel. + 44 (0)203 796 1388.
E-mail: [email protected] - http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1020-5240

Submitted: 3 November, 2017; Accepted: 9 November, 2017.

ISSN: Online 1696-3547, Print 0214-6282

© 2018 UPV/EHU Press (Bilbao, Spain) and Creative Commons CC-BY. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creative-
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226 M. Placzek and J. Briscoe

et al., 2008)). Thus, in the ventral half of the spinal cord, motor the induction of the cell types normally found in the ventral neural
neurons and interneurons are formed. Analogous transcriptional tube (Martí et al., 1995; Roelink et al., 1995). Demonstration of
codes are found in other regions of the neural tube and underlie the necessity for Shh came a year later with the analysis of mice
the spatial pattern of neurogenesis in the dorsal half of the spinal in which the Shh gene had been deleted using gene targeting – a
cord (reviewed in Lai et al., 2016) and in the brain (for reviews technique not available in the chick, and an indication of the power
see (Guillemot, 2007; Pearson and Placzek, 2013; Scholpp and in combining chick and mouse studies (Chiang et al., 1996). To-
Lumsden, 2010). This principle, in which the spatially restricted gether, the embryological and molecular data suggested that Shh
expression of transcription factors in neural progenitors results in is initially expressed in the notochord and signals to the adjacent
the spatially segregated generation of distinct neuronal subtypes, neural tube to induce floor plate cells that in turn synthesise and
is the first step in the assembly of functional neuronal circuits. secrete Shh. Secreted Shh is then responsible for the patterning
This facilitates the formation of the correct synaptic connections of the neural tube, and the eventual differentiation of its signature
between neighbouring cell types and ensures that newly generated cell types, notably the motor neurons and interneurons that will
neurons are deposited in locations in which they are exposed to form the characteristic circuits of the spinal cord.
appropriate axon guidance signals. Thus, the later function of the Explant assays using chick neural tissue confirmed that a pro-
vertebrate nervous system depends on the specific and reliable cessed, secreted form of Shh, the ShhN isoform, was responsible
pattern of TF gene expression in neural progenitors. for all the inducing activities of Shh (Martí et al., 1995; Roelink et
The stereotypic patterns of neurogenesis in the neural tube raises al., 1995). These experiments also demonstrated that the induction
the question of how neural progenitors obtain spatial information in of different cell types is controlled by different concentrations of
order to establish the correct transcription factor expression profile. ShhN, with higher concentrations of Shh required for the induc-
A series of embryological observations and surgical manipulations tion of more ventral cell types, such as floor plate, than for motor
in chick embryos focused attention on the notochord, a specialised neurons (Ericson et al., 1997; Roelink et al., 1995).
rod of axial mesoderm that underlies the posterior neural tube. Subsequent studies in the chick neural tube suggested that
Grafting an ectopic notochord next to the neural tube resulted in Patched1 (Ptch1) is the Shh receptor (Marigo and Tabin, 1996),
the induction of motor neurons and floor plate cells – a group of an idea that was rapidly confirmed through biochemical binding
specialised glial cells occupying the ventral midline of the neural studies (Marigo et al., 1996). To test the range of Shh signaling
tube (van Straaten et al., 1989; Yamada et al., 1991). Conversely, in vivo a mutated form of Ptch1 that acted as a dominant inhibitor
notochord removal resulted in the absence of the floor plate and of Shh signaling was developed (Briscoe et al., 2001). This was
motor neurons (van Straaten et al., 1988; Yamada et al., 1991). introduced into the chick neural tube by in ovo electroporation – a
Equivalent experiments with grafts of floor plate demonstrated that powerful technique that produces mosaic unilateral expression of a
these cells also had a similar activity. The observation that ectopic mutant protein allowing the cell autonomous and non-autonomous
floor plate cells differentiated immediately adjacent to grafted cells, effects of a pertuburation to be assessed directly in individual
whereas motor neurons were located at a characteristic distance embryos (eg Briscoe et al., 2001; Kwong et al., 2014). Analysis of
(Yamada et al., 1991) led to the conclusion that a secreted factor the transfected regions demonstrated that inhibiting Shh signalling
with a graded instructive role established the pattern of cell type cell autonomously inhibited the generation of ventral cell types
generation in the ventral neural tube. This was confirmed and (Briscoe et al., 2001). The cell types affected included not only floor
extended by a series of ex-vivo experiments in which explants of plate and motor neurons, which had been identified by the earlier
notochord/floor plate from chick were co-cultured with neural tissue embryological studies, but also the progenitors of each of the four
(Yamada et al., 1993). The use of explanted tissue from the chick classes of interneurons generated in the ventral half of the neural
neural tube has continued to provide an indispensable assay for tube. Together these studies confirmed that Shh acts in a graded
the characterisation of patterning signals (e.g. Zagorski et al., 2017) manner over a long range to control the subtype identity and pattern
and it highlights some of the advantages of the chick, including of neurons along the D-V axis in the posterior ventral neural tube.
the accessibility of embryos, the relative ease of micro-dissection
and the ability to grow embryonic tissue in vitro in serum-free Establishing a Shh gradient in the neural tube
defined medium to test the direct effects of signalling factors on
isolated tissue. The secretion, spread and reception of Shh within the neural
tube depends on a large set of dedicated proteins, many of which
Sonic hedgehog mediates ventral patterning in the are highly conserved (reviewed in Briscoe and Therond, 2013).
posterior neural tube Fatty acids covalently modify Shh to affect both its trafficking to
lipid rafts, its secretion and its potency (Long et al., 2015; Pepinsky
The cloning of Shh in 1993/1994 offered the first insight into et al., 1998; Porter et al., 1996). The route by which Shh protein is
the molecular identity of the secreted signal responsible for ventral dispersed through the posterior neuroepithelium remains unclear.
neural tube patterning (Chang et al., 1994; Echelard et al., 1993; Immunological assays in both chick and mouse revealed Shh
Krauss et al., 1993; Riddle et al., 1993; Roelink et al., 1994). Shh protein in a graded distribution within the ventral neural tube (Gritli-
expression coincides with stages at which notochord and floor plate Linde et al., 2001; Patten and Placzek, 2002; Cohen et al., 2015)
display their patterning activity. Strikingly, ectopic expression of Analysis of a transgenic mouse strain containing a fluorescently
Shh in the dorsal neural tube induces floor plate and motor neuron labeled Shh protein (Shh-GFP), suggested that microtubule based
specification, recapitulating the activity of transplanted notochord transport traffics Shh from the notochord across cells in the midline
and floor plate (Echelard et al., 1993; Krauss et al., 1993; Roelink of the forming neural tube (the prospective floor plate), possibly in
et al., 1994). Subsequently, Shh was shown to be sufficient for vesicles, to their apical surface, where it is released (Chamberlain
 Shh signaling and neural tube development 227

et al., 2008). Consistent with this, although Shh protein can be ventral neural tube patterning (Wijgerde et al., 2002). Moreover the
observed basolaterally within the neuroepithelium (Gritli-Linde et concentration effects of Shh protein can be recapitulated in chick
al., 2001) it accumulates at the apical side of neural progenitors neural tissue explants by the graded activation of Smo activity
over several cell diameters from the ventral midline of the neural using small molecule antagonists and agonists (Dessaud et al.,
tube. This accumulation of Shh protein appears to be intracellular 2007; Frank-Kamenetsky et al., 2002).
and associated with the basal body of the primary cilium (Cham- Shh signaling depends on a cell’s primary cilia. This was first
berlain et al., 2008). Thus Shh protein might be trafficked apically noticed in mice with mutations in cilia components (Huangfu and
following its internalization elsewhere on the cell. Anderson, 2005; Huangfu et al., 2003). Subsequent analyses of
Notwithstanding these uncertainties, it is clear that several ventral neural tube patterning in embryos lacking different ciliary
extracellular and transmembrane proteins influence the spread components revealed that cilia are required for maintaining the
of Shh protein through the neuroepithelium. Heparin sulphate signaling pathway in its ‘off-state’ as well as for transducing the ac-
proteoglycans (HSPGs) have been implicated in binding to many tive signal (reviewed in Goetz and Anderson, 2010). These studies
extracellular ligands including Shh, and may govern its rate of included analysis of the Taplid3 chick mutant (Davey et al., 2006).
spread (Rubin et al., 2002). Moreover the expression of Sulf1, This coiled-coiled domain containing protein is a component of
which catalyzes the sulfation of HSPGs, is induced in the ventral the centrosome that forms the basal body of cilia and mutants fail
neural tube and associated with the accumulation of Shh protein to form cilia (Yin et al., 2009). Consistent with the importance of
(Danesin et al., 2006). This suggests that HSPGs modulate the cilia, many of the Shh signaling components localize to cilia and
distribution of Shh within the neural tube, although their diversity dynamic changes in their localizations have been implicated in the
and pleiotropy has made their role difficult to determine. mechanism of signaling (Corbit et al., 2005; Rohatgi et al., 2007,
Several proteins that are transcriptionally regulated by Shh signal- Stasiulewicz et al., 2015). Nevertheless, many of the molecular
ing also bind to Shh protein to inhibit the activity and dissemination details of the signaling pathway, both within and outside the cilium,
of Shh. These include Ptch1 and Hhip1, which are upregulated remain elusive, and patterning of the neural tube is likely to con-
by Shh signaling (Chuang and McMahon, 1999; Goodrich et al., tinue to be a valuable model for deciphering the identity, function
1996). These block Shh signaling by binding to Shh, sequestering localisation and regulation of components of the signaling pathway.
it and/or enhancing its degradation (Briscoe et al., 2001; Chuang For the control of ventral neural tube patterning the pivotal event
et al., 2003; Jeong and McMahon, 2005). Moreover, while Ptch1 is in the signaling pathway is the post-translational regulation of Gli
a transmembrane protein, Hhip1 appears to be secreted and acts protein activity (Briscoe and Therond., 2013). In mouse and chick
non–cell-autonomously to antagonize Shh signaling (Holtz et al., this family consists of three genes, Gli1-3, which are translated
2015; Kwong et al., 2014). Hence the upregulation of Ptch1 and into three proteins, two of which (Gli2 and Gli3) can be converted
Hhip1 attenuates Shh spread through the neural tissue, leading to a to a repressor form. Like other components of the signal transduc-
decrease in Shh at more distant, dorsal, positions in the neural tube. tion pathway, trafficking through the cilium appears to regulate
By contrast, a second group of transmembrane proteins, includ- the activity of Gli proteins, most likely determining their access
ing Cdon, Boc and Gas1, enhance Shh signaling in the posterior to protein kinase A, which is important for the production of the
neural tube (Allen et al., 2011; 2007; Song et al., 2015; Tenzen et repressor form of Gli3 and to restrain activation of Gli2 (Tuson et
al., 2006). Cdon and Boc are conserved from Drosophila to mam- al., 2011). In the absence of Shh, full length forms of Gli2 and Gli3
mals, while Gas appears to be mammalian-specific. These proteins proteins are proteolytically processed into repressive forms (GliR)
appear to act as co-receptors for Shh since in mouse the removal in manner that depends on protein kinase A and the presence of a
of all three results in loss of ventral pattern in the neural tube (Allen functioning primary cilium. In the presence of Shh, Gli processing
et al., 2011). Gain-of-function approaches in the chick spinal cord is inhibited resulting in the production of transcriptionally active
show that although Cdon and Boc display functional redundancy, forms of Gli (GliA). This also depends on primary cilia. The net
they appear to employ distinct molecular mechanisms to execute Gli activity that results from the amount of GliA and GliR in a cell
their HH-promoting effects (Song et al., 2015). The expression of regulates the expression of target genes, including the receptor
this group of proteins is downregulated by Shh signaling. This has Ptch1, Gli1 and several proneural transcription factors (Briscoe
led to the suggestion that this set of proteins enhances Shh signaling and Therond, 2013)
during early stages of neural development when the level of Shh The precise contribution each Gli protein makes to ventral
protein is low. As Shh production increases, their downregulation neural tube patterning differs. The forced expression of a domi-
decreases the spread and stability of Shh, and in this way, reduces nant inhibitory form of Gli3 in the chick neural tube inhibits ventral
signaling (Allen et al., 2007; Jeong and McMahon, 2005, Song et neural tube patterning (Persson et al., 2002; Meyer and Roelink,
al., 2015). Together these processes have been proposed to buf- 2003), consistent with the idea that the Shh-mediated removal of
fer fluctuations in the production or spread of Shh protein to add Gli3 repressor function is essential for ventral patterning. Indeed,
robustness to ventral patterning. the loss of Gli3 in mouse results in a dorsal expansion of the cell
types specified by low levels of Shh signaling (Persson et al.,
Mechanism of Shh signaling in the neural tube 2002). Moreover, all but the most ventral cell types (floor plate
and immediately-adjacent cells) are recovered in embryos lacking
The patterning of the dorso-ventral axis of the posterior neural Shh in which Gli3 is also ablated (Litingtung and Chiang, 2000).
tube has served as a model for understanding how cells respond By contrast, in mouse embryos lacking Gli2 the floor plate is no
to a graded signal. The transmembrane protein Smoothened links longer specified and there is a reduction and ventral shift in the
the signaling pathway to its intracellular transduction in neural cells formation of other ventral progenitor types (Matise et al., 1998).
(Hynes et al., 2000). Deletion or inhibition of Smo activity abrogates This indicates that Gli2 is required for the production of cell identi-
228 M. Placzek and J. Briscoe

ties requiring the highest levels of Shh signaling. in chick embryos indicated that Nkx2.2 represses Olig2 (Novitch et
Genetic experiments in mouse raised the possibility that graded al., 2001). Experimental observations, together with mathematical
Shh signaling establishes a gradient of Gli activity in the neural tube modeling, suggested that the repressive activity of Olig2 and Pax6
by progressively inhibiting Gli repressor activity and increasing Gli on Nkx2.2, and not solely the sensitivity of Nkx2.2 to Gli activity,
activator function. In support of this, gain-of-function experiments is responsible for establishing the spatial pattern of Nkx2.2 gene
in the chick using in ovo electropooration indicated that mutated expression (Balaskas et al., 2012). This same mechanism allows
versions of the Gli proteins with different levels of transcriptional lower levels of Gli activity to maintain the expression Nkx2.2 once
activity are sufficient to recapitulate the patterning activity of graded it has been induced suggesting a mechanism to maintain stable
Shh signaling (Stamataki et al., 2005). patterns of gene expression despite the changing levels of Gli activ-
It is apparent, however, that there is not a simple relationship ity. The presence of similar regulatory links between transcription
between the extracellular concentration of Shh and the level of factors that define other progenitor boundaries raises the possibility
transcriptional activation produced by Gli proteins. The amplitude that similar mechanisms are used to interpret the dynamics of Gli
of intracellular signaling is highly dynamic (Balaskas et al., 2012; activity to establish the ventral pattern of gene expression. In this
Dessaud et al., 2007; 2010). A transgenic reporter in which the view, the dynamics of the downstream transcriptional network is
expression of a fluorescent protein is controlled by Gli binding responsible for converting the evolving levels of Gli activity into
sites indicated that neural progenitors are initially highly sensitive stable patterns of gene expression.
to Shh and the level of transcriptional activation induced by Gli Insight into how different gene regulatory inputs are integrated
proteins rises rapidly. With time, cells appear to adapt and become at the genomic level is beginning to emerge from studies of the
desensitized to ongoing Shh exposure, resulting in a decline in cis-regulatory regions of the transcription factors induced by Shh
Gli transcriptional activity. A consequence of this adaptation is signaling (Oosterveen et al., 2012; 2013; Peterson et al., 2012;
that different concentrations of Shh generate different durations of Vokes et al., 2007; 2008; Nishi et al., 2015; Kutejova et al., 2016).
intracellular Gli activation, effectively creating a temporal dimension ChIP and bioinformatic analyses have identified Gli binding sites
to the extent of Shh signalling. The induction of negative feedback, associated with many of these transcription factors and transgenic
mediated by ligand-dependent antagonists such as Ptch1, might reporter assays have confirmed the role of these sites in regulat-
contribute to the desensitization of cells to Shh (Dessaud et al., ing gene expression (Peterson et al., 2012; Vokes et al., 2007).
2007). Alternatively, features such as differential stability of activator An unexpected correlation between the affinity of the Gli binding
and repressor forms of the Gli proteins and/or differences in the site and the distance from the ventral midline of gene induction
transcriptional regulation of the Gli genes could be responsible for was noted (Oosterveen et al., 2012). In conventional models of
the adaptation (Cohen et al., 2015). morphogen signaling, genes that are induced at lower concen-
trations of a morphogen are more sensitive because they have
Interpretation of Shh signaling by a transcriptional a high binding affinity for the morphogen-activated transcription
network in the spinal cord factor. By contrast the induction of genes that require high levels
of morphogen have a lower affinity binding site. For the targets of
How do the observed dynamics of Gli activity result in the Shh-Gli signaling in neural cells the opposite was observed: high
spatially restricted expression of the transcription factors that de- affinity Gli binding sites were found associated with genes that are
termine progenitor identity and control neuronal subtype identity? normally induced in response to high levels of Shh-Gli activity and
Initial studies divided the transcription factors that respond to Shh low affinity sites were found in more broadly induced genes. This
into two classes based on their mode of regulation: class I genes observation, together with assays in chick embryos of Gli binding
were defined by being repressed by Shh signaling, conversely sites within cis-regulatory regions led to the suggestion that the
class II genes were those ‘induced’ by Shh (Briscoe et al., 2000). mechanisms of short and long-range interpretation of Shh signaling
A combination of gain-of-function experiments in chick and loss-of- differ. In this view, the context of the Gli binding site means that
function experiments in mouse identified selective cross-repressive short range targets require Gli activator and high binding affinity
interactions between pairs of class I and class II proteins (Briscoe whereas long range targets are regulated through low affinity
et al., 2000; Ericson et al., 1997). Moreover, many of the transcrip- sites by Gli repressor activity. This raises the question of how the
tion factors controlled by Shh were shown to directly interact with response of cis-regulatory regions elements is determined.
co-repressors of the Groucho/TLE family suggesting a prominent In addition to Gli binding sites, many of the Shh responsive
role for de-represson in the spatial regulation of gene expression cis-regulatory in neural target genes are associated with binding
(Muhr et al., 2001). The mutual repression between pairs of tran- sites for homeodomain proteins and SoxB proteins (Oosterveen
scription factors provides a mechanism to produce the discrete et al., 2012; Peterson et al., 2012). Members of the SoxB fam-
switches in gene expression that delineate the progenitor domains ily of transcriptional activators (Sox1-3) are broadly expressed
in the neural tube. throughout the neural tube and function as activators of target
In addition to generating discrete spatial switches in gene ex- genes. Strikingly, the ectopic expression of Sox2 within cells of the
pression, the regulatory interactions between the Shh responsive limb is sufficient to allow the Shh-dependent induction of genes
transcription factors plays a major role in defining dynamics of the such as Nkx2.2 and Nkx6.1 that are normally restricted to neural
response to Gli activity and the temporal features of neural tube progenitors (Oosterveen et al., 2013). Thus, SoxB binding appears
patterning (Balaskas et al., 2012; Cohen et al.,2014; for a review to confer neural specificity to target genes. Moreover, the number,
see Cohen et al., 2013). For example, during normal development affinity or arrangement of SoxB binding sites within a regulatory
cells destined to express Nkx2.2 transiently express Olig2 and Pax6 element could influence its response to Gli input. By contrast to
prior to Nkx2.2 (Dessaud et al., 2007). Gain of function experiments the Sox sites, mutation of the homeodomain binding sites in a cis-
 Shh signaling and neural tube development 229

regulatory element indicated that homeodomain protein binding expression or signaling (Belloni et al., 1996; Roessler et al., 1996).
normally mediates a repressive activity (Oosterveen et al., 2012). Targeted electroporation in chick, involving gain- and loss-of-
This supports and extends the genetic experiments that suggest function studies of homeodomain transcription factors, proved
a repressive function of the homeodomain transcription factors that the region specific outcome of Shh signaling depends on the
regulated by Shh-Gli signaling. Taken together the current model expression of a set transcription factors that are established by
suggests that individual cis-regulatory elements integrate the tran- earlier anterior-posterior cues. Six3, Irx3, and Otx2, for instance,
scriptional input from Gli proteins, with uniform activation provided promote expression of Nkx2.1, Nkx6.1, Dlx2 and Gbx2 in response
by SoxB proteins, and transcriptional repression from the spatially to Shh, and hence hypothalamic, diencephalic and midbrain fates
controlled homeodomain transcription factors that comprise the (Watanabe and Nakamura, 2000; Kobayashi et al., 2002; Ohyama
gene regulatory network (Oosterveen et al., 2012; Peterson et al., et al., 2005; Kiecker and Lumsden, 2004)
2012; Cohen et al., 2014). Together, these constituents control the For a brief early period, similar patterns of Gli genes are detected
spatial and temporal dynamics of gene expression in the neural tube. along the dorso-ventral axis in the anterior neural tube to those
described posteriorly. Thus in both the chick and mouse anterior
Floor plate induction neural tube, Gli1, Gli2 and Gli3 are expressed in overlapping but
distinct domains, Gli1 in ventral-midline cells, Gli2 in ventral and
Although the graded activity of Shh signaling, decoded by the intermediate regions and Gli3, dorsally (Aglyamova and Agarwala,
downstream transcriptional network, forms the basis of ventral 2007; Ohyama et al., 2008). Further, some of the same home-
neural tube patterning, additional mechanisms contribute to the odomain transcription factors as the prospective spinal cord are
diversification of cell fates. One example of this arises for the speci- involved. For instance, Foxa1 is transiently expressed in the ventral
fication of the ventral midline floor plate (for a review see (Placzek midline, whilst Nkx2.2, Pax6 and Dbx1 are expressed more distantly
and Briscoe, 2005). These cells are morphologically and functionally (Chapman et al., 2002; Ferran et al., 2007). Analyses of Gli mouse
distinct from neural progenitors that reside in the rest of the neural mutants reveals that, similar to the prospective spinal cord, in the
tube. The constricted apical surfaces and basally localized nuclei anterior neuraxis Gli2 performs the main GliA function and that Shh
of floor plate cells is responsible for the characteristic shape of the counteracts Gli3 (eg. Haddad-Tovolli et al., 2015). However, there
neural tube and these cells act as a secondary organizing centre are differences. In Gli2 mutant mice (that lack Shh expression in
by secreting Shh. By contrast to other neural progenitors, which posterior floor plate cells), Shh-expressing ventral midline cells
acquire their characteristic transcriptional identities after neural persist in the anterior neural tube (Ding et al., 1998; Matise et al.,
tube closure, the induction of the floor plate requires exposure to 1998). Subsequent studies, analysing Shh enhancer elements,
Shh signaling at an earlier time point (Ribes et al., 2010; Sasai described a unique enhancer, SBE2 (Shh brain enhancer 2) that
et al., 2014). Gain- and loss-of-function experiments indicate that drives expression in rostral diencephalic ventral midline (RDVM)
only cells in the open neural plate are competent to form floor cells (Jeong et al., 2006).
plate in response to Shh signaling. Moreover, following this early Studies in chick contributed to unravelling how Shh is regulated
induction, components of Shh signaling are rapidly downregulated in the anterior neuraxis and highlighted differences to the prospec-
in presumptive floor plate cells, halting further signaling. This ter- tive spinal cord. Fate mapping studies showed that RDVM cells are
mination of signaling is necessary for floor plate differentiation and underlain by axial prechordal mesendoderm (PM), not notochord
might also allow floor plate cells to secrete Shh efficiently, since (Dale et al., 1997). RDVM cells are absent if PM is removed; con-
the upregulation of Ptch1 and other Hh binding factors in cells versely, grafting an ectopic PM next to the neural tube resulted in
responding to Shh would likely sequester the ligand. Thus, floor the induction of RDVM-like cells (Pera and Kessel., 1997; Patten
plate induction emphasizes the importance of timing and dynamics et al., 2003; García-Calero et al., 2008). Ex vivo studies in which
for the response of neural cells to Shh-Gli signaling. PM was cultured with neural tissue showed that PM can induce
RDVM cells and initiate further ventral pattern (Dale et al.,. 1997;
Shh signaling in anterior regions of the neural tube Dale et al., 1999; Ohyama et al., 2005; Hintze et al., 2017). PM, like
notochord, expresses Shh (Patten et al., 2003; Ellis et al., 2015;
Shh is expressed along the entire anterior-posterior (future Shimamura et al., 1995), and blockade or genetic ablation of Shh
rostro-caudal) length of the axial mesoderm and ventral midline of activity in the PM abrogates its ability to induce RDVM cells (Dale
the neural tube (Riddle et al., 1993; Roelink et al., 1994). Exposure et al., 1997; Shimamura and Rubenstein, 1997; Patten et al., 2003;
of chick neural explants dissected from different anterior-posterior Geng et al., 2008; Aoto et al., 2009). Further, while mouse embryos
positions to Shh, implantation of Shh-soaked beads at different in which Shh is conditionally deleted in the PM show cyclopia, those
axial positions or localised constitutive activation of Smo indicated in which Shh is conditionally deleted in RDVM cells do not (Szabo
that Shh induces a wide variety of ventral neurons of the brain, et al., 2009). Therefore, the holoprosencephalic phenotypes that
including interneurons of the telencephalon and diencephalon, arise when Shh or Shh signaling are deregulated arise due to a
dopaminergic neurons of the hypothalamus and midbrain and failure of RDMV induction by PM (Roessler and Muenke, 2010).
serotonergic neurons of the hindbrain (Ericson et al., 1995; Wang Nevertheless, exposure of neural tube explants to purified Shh
et al., 1995; Gunhaga et al., 2000; Craven et al., 2004; Ohyama protein revealed that Shh is not sufficient to induce RDVM cells.
et al., 2005). The importance of Shh throughout the neural tube Instead, Shh acts co-operatively with the TGFb-ligand, Nodal, with
was confirmed by the loss of ventral cell types in mouse embryos which it is transiently expressed in the PM (Patten et al., 2003;
lacking the Shh gene (Chiang et al., 1996) and the discovery that Ellis et al., 2015). Loss-of-function studies in mouse and zebraf-
HPE, a human congenital malformation in which ventral areas of ish, and analyses of human patients, suggest that a Shh-Nodal
the brain are not properly formed, results from disruption to Shh co-operation may be widely conserved and that Shh and Nodal
230 M. Placzek and J. Briscoe

signaling pathways are required cell-autonomously in RDVM cells events are driven through the dyamic expression of Ptch1 and
(Mathieu et al., 2002; reviewed in (Placzek and Briscoe, 2005)). At Hhip. In the hypothalamus, Ptch1 is rapidly downregulated in
present, the mechanism is not known, but this could be examined central hypothalamic progenitors, halting further signaling (Man-
in chicks, for instance, by asking whether Shh and Nodal form part ning et al., 2006). Potentially, this enables them to secrete Shh
of a gene regulatory network that includes the TF, Six3, known to efficiently, supporting its spread and the sustained maintenace/
be responsive to Shh and to activate SBE2 (Geng et al., 2008; induction of Rx/rx3 anteriorly. Thus, as in the spinal cord, it is likely
Jeong et al., 2008). that Shh-activated genes can attenuate the effects of Shh signal-
Studies in chick and mouse show that RDVM cells give rise to a ing, confining the regional and temporal expression and actions
highly proliferative hypothalamic progenitor population (Manning et of Shh. Whether the effects of Shh-activated co-receptors will
al., 2006; Alvarez-Bolado et al., 2012; Fu et al., 2017). The transi- operate in the same manner as in the spinal cord remains to be
tion from RDVM to proliferating hypothalamic progenitors appears determined. Intriguingly, in the optic vesicle, in the absence of Ptc
to be mediated by the PM. During the time the PM is adjacent to co-expression Cdon acts as a sink for Hh proteins, potentially limit-
RDVM cells, Shh/Nodal expression declines and BMP expres- ing their spread (Cardozo et al., 2014). Additionally, Shh signaling
sion increases (Dale et al., 1999; Ellis et al., 2015). Exposure of may be attenuated by genes that are exclusive to the forebrain. The
RDVM explants to BMPs upregulates the transcriptional repressor, low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 2 (LRP2; megalin)
Tbx2 and the signaling factor, Fgf10. Loss-of-function studies, has been implicated as a Shh coreceptor in the forebrain and has
electroporating a Tbx2 siRNA construct into chick RDVM cells been suggested to concentrate Shh in the ventral forebrain at an
showed that Tbx2 is required to downregulate Shh in RDVM cells appropriate developmental time (Christ et al., 2012).
and to promote cell cycle (Manning et al., 2006). Explant culture The intricate regulation of induction and cessation of Shh signal-
studies show that Fgf signals in an autocrine manner to promote ing in sets of neighboring cells, coupled with the ability of Shh to
proliferation of hypothalamic progenitors (Pearson et al., 2011). integrate growth and differentiation, creates a temporal dimension
Studies in mice extended this work, showing that Tbx2 and Tbx3 that provides the opportunity to build increasingly complex arrays
repress Shh by sequestering Sox2 away from a Shh cis-regulatory of neurons. The hypothalamus, for instance, contains a vast array
element (Trowe et al., 2013), again, highlighting the importance of of neurons that centrally regulate complex homeostatic processes
SoxB1 genes as activators of neural expression and their intimate that are essential to survival and species propagation.
association with Shh in the neural tube. Similarly, dynamic neural Shh-Gli activity underlies development
Recent fate-mapping experiments in chick and mouse show of the thamalic complex, a region of the brain that processes and
that RDVM-derived hypothalamic progenitors are a multipotent relays sensory and motor information to and from the cortex. The
population and contribute widely to different subsets of hypotha- thalamic complex is composed of the pre-thalamus (anteriorly) and
lamic progenitors (Alvarez-Bolado et al., 2012; Fu et al., 2017). the thalamus (posteriorly), bissected through a narrow compartment,
In chick, RDVM-derived hypothalamic progenitors give rise to the zona limitans intrathalamica (ZLI) that expresses Shh. Stud-
anterior, tuberal and mamillary progenitors along the rostro-caudal ies of chimeric chick embryos generated through classic surgical
axis,, each of which grows and differentiates sequentially over manipulation, or explant apposition experiments, showed that the
time (Fu et al., 2017). This shows an exquisite coupling of growth formation of the ZLI is due to an interaction between anterior and
and fate in the hypothalamus, a process in which Shh signaling posterior neuroepithelia (Vieira et al., 2005; Guinazu et al., 2007).
plays an essential role. Transient blockade of Shh signaling in the Targeted electoporation studies subsequently showed that the ZLI
chick embryo prevents the growth of anterior progenitors (Fu et is induced through cross-repressive TF interactions (reviewed
al., 2017). Studies in mouse and zebrafish suggests a potential in Scholpp and Lumsden, 2010). Shh expression was found to
mechanism, in which Shh induces the paired-like homeodomain be induced progressively in the ZLI, from ventral to dorsal. As in
TF, Rx/rx3 in hypothalamic progenitors, a determinant of anterior the hypothalamus, this appears to be mediated through an auto-
progenitor fate and growth. The subsequent down-regulation of induction mechanism (Vieira et al., 2005). Grafting and explant
Rx/rx3, by Shh, is required to realize hypothalamic fate. In the experiments in chick embryos revealed that the mid-diencephalic
absence of Rx/rx3, anterior progenitors fail to grow and neurons ZLI displays organizer activity, inducing thalamic and prethalamic
characteristic of the anterior and tuberal hypothalamus fail to dif- characteristics (Guinazu et al., 2007; Vieira et al., 2005). Further,
ferentiate (Muthu et al., 2015; Orquera et al.,. 2015). Amongst the Shh-Gli was shown to mediate a significant extent of the organizing
genes upregulated or maintained in anterior progenitors by Rx/ activity of the ZLI. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments using
rx3 is Shh itself. Thus a regulatory loop between Shh and Rx/rx3, in ovo electroporation showed that Shh signaling is required for
coupled to growth, may explain the complex pattern of expres- region-specific gene expression in the thalamus and prethalamus
sion of Shh in the hypothalamus, in which it is downregulated in (Kiecker and Lumsden, 2004). Similarly, ectopic activation of the
central-most hypothalamic progenitors, but maintained/upregulated Shh pathway by misexpression of Smo, or GliAs induced the ex-
in emerging anterior progenitors. The notion that Shh-expressing pression of thalamic markers (Vue et al., 2007; Hashimoto-Torii et
anterior progenitors are a dynamic population provides an ex- al., 2003). Early indications suggested that Shh deriving from the
planation for genetic lineage-tracing studies in the mouse, which MDO/ZLI spreads along the A-P axis, and acts as a morphogen
reveal their extensive, but dynamic contribution to hypothalamic to pattern the AP axis of the thalamus in a similar way to its ac-
neurons (Szabo et al., 2009; Shimogori et al., 2010; Zhao et al., tions along the dorsoventral axis of the spinal cord, generating 3
2012; Haddad-Tovolli et al., 2015). distinctive progenitor domains (pTH-R, closest to the zli, pTH-C2
Central to this regulatory loop is the ability of Shh to non- and pTH-C1) whose transcriptional profiles are similar to those of
autonomously induce Rx/rx3 and autonomously down-regulate the 3 ventral-most progenitor domains of the spinal cord (reviewed
it. In the posterior neural tube, autonomous and non-autonomous in Epstein, 2012; Scholpp and Lumsden, 2010). Recent studies,
 Shh signaling and neural tube development 231

however, suggest a more complex model, in which Shh arising lineage in the mouse hypothalamus: from progenitor domains to hypothalamic
from the basal plate plays a role in pTH-R progenitor specifica- regions. Neural Dev. 7: 4.

tion, potentially contributing to increased levels or durations of AOTO, K., SHIKATA, Y., IMAI, H., MATSUMARU, D., TOKUNAGA, T., SHIODA, S.,
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signalling (Jeong et al., 2011; reviewed in Epstein, 2012). As in
plate maintenance during brain and craniofacial morphogenesis. Dev Biol. 327:
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Collectively, the studies of the last two decades have revealed the HENG HH, KOOP B, MARTINDALE D, ROMMENS JM, TSUI LC, SCHERER
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nervous system. Reciprocally, the analysis of neural tube develop-
BRISCOE, J., CHEN, Y., JESSELL, T.M., AND STRUHL, G. (2001). A hedgehog-
ment has provided multiple insights into Shh signaling. The chick insensitive form of patched provides evidence for direct long-range morphogen
embryo has featured prominently in many of these studies and activity of sonic hedgehog in the neural tube. Mol. Cell 7: 1279–1291.
through this work we have gained new mechanistic insights into BRISCOE, J., PIERANI, A., JESSELL, T.M., AND ERICSON, J. (2000). A homeodo-
how a single signal can perform several functions and produce an main protein code specifies progenitor cell identity and neuronal fate in the ventral
ordered pattern of diverse cell types in a complex tissue. Not only neural tube. Cell 101: 435–445.
have these insights deepened our understanding of fundamental BRISCOE, J., SMALL, S. 2015. Morphogen rules: design principles of gradient-
developmental processes but they have aso been a major influ- mediated embryo patterning. Development 142: 3996–4009.
ence in the establishment of methods for the directed differentia- BRISCOE, J., THÉROND, P.P. 2013. The mechanisms of Hedgehog signalling and
its roles in development and disease. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 14: 416–429.
tion of specific neuronal subtypes from embryonic stem cells in
vitro (Wichterle et al., 2002); Cundiff and Anderson, 2011; Liu and CARDOZO, M.J., SÁNCHEZ-ARRONES, L., SANDONIS, A., SÁNCHEZ-CAMACHO,
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Zhang, 2010). Moreover the transplantation of stem cell-derived Cdon acts as a Hedgehog decoy receptor during proximal-distal patterning of the
neurons back into chick has resulted in successful engraftment optic vesicle. Nat Commun. 5: 4272.
(Wichterle et al., 2002), raising the hope that this could provide an CHAMBERLAIN, C.E., JEONG, J., GUO, C., ALLEN, B.L., AND MCMAHON, A.P.
eventual route to cell based therapies for some neurodegenerative (2008). Notochord-derived Shh concentrates in close association with the apically
diseases. Despite the progress, much remains to be discovered positioned basal body in neural target cells and forms a dynamic gradient during
about Shh signaling and neural tube development. Approaches neural patterning. Development 135: 1097–1106.
that provide live, high-resolution measurements of the activity of CHANG, D.T., LÓPEZ, A., KESSLER, VON, D.P., CHIANG, C., SIMANDL, B.K.,
key components of the pathway are necessary to decipher the ZHAO, R., SELDIN, M.F., FALLON, J.F., AND BEACHY, P.A. (1994). Products,
genetic linkage and limb patterning activity of a murine hedgehog gene. Develop-
signaling mechanism and provide insight into the dynamics of signal ment 120: 3339–3353.
transmission through the pathway. Similarly, understanding how Shh
CHAPMAN, S.C., SCHUBERT, F.R., SCHOENWOLF, G.C. AND LUMSDEN, A.
signaling regulates differential gene expression to control cell fate (2002). Analysis of spatial and temporal gene expression patterns in blastula and
decisions will benefit from the increased precision and resolution gastrula stage chick embryos. Dev Biol. 245: 187-99
that new technologies are beginning to offer. It seems likely that CHIANG, C., LITINGTUNG, Y., LEE, E., YOUNG, K.E., CORDEN, J.L., WESTPHAL,
the chick will continue to play a leading role in these approaches. H., AND BEACHY, P.A. (1996). Cyclopia and defective axial patterning in mice
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Acknowledgements CHRIST, A., CHRISTA, A., KUR, E., LIOUBINSKI, O., BACHMANN, S., WILLNOW,
We thank Philip Ingham for comments on an earlier draft of this article T.E., AND HAMMES, A. (2012). LRP2 is an auxiliary SHH receptor required to
and Anne-Gaelle Borycki and Matthew Towers for comments on this article. condition the forebrain ventral midline for inductive signals. Dev. Cell 22: 268–278.
Work in JB’s lab is supported by the Francis Crick Institute which receives CHUANG, P.T., AND MCMAHON, A.P. (1999). Vertebrate Hedgehog signalling
its core funding from Cancer Research UK (FC001051), the UK Medical modulated by induction of a Hedgehog-binding protein. Nature 397: 617–621.
Research Council (FC001051), and the Wellcome Trust (FC001051); by CHUANG, P.T., KAWCAK, T., AND MCMAHON, A.P. (2003). Feedback control of mam-
the Wellcome Trust (WT098326MA); and by the BBSRC (BB/J015539/1). malian Hedgehog signaling by the Hedgehog-binding protein, Hip1, modulates Fgf
signaling during branching morphogenesis of the lung. Genes Dev. 17: 342–347.
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