Ten years following identification of Reelin as the product of the gene mutated in reeler mice, the signalling pathway activated by Reelin is being progressively unravelled with the identification of lipoprotein receptors as reelin receptors, of the Dab1 adapter and of some other proximal components in target cells. However, we are still a long way from understanding the action of this complex ...

Cerebellar Purkinje cells are generated in the ventricular zone, migrate outward, and finally form a monolayer in the cortex. In reeler mice, however, most Purkinje cells cluster abnormally in subcortical areas. Reelin, the candidate reeler gene product recognized by the CR-50 monoclonal antibody, is concentrated in a cortical zone along which Purkinje cells are aligned linearly, implying that ...

The reeler mutation in mice produces an especially well characterized disorder, with systematically abnormal migration of cerebral cortical neurons. The reeler gene encodes a large protein, termed Reelin, that in the cortex is synthesized and secreted exclusively in the Cajal-Retzius neurons of the cortical marginal zone (D'Arcangelo et al., 1995). In reeler mutant mice, loss of Reelin protein ...

Proper neuronal migration and laminar formation during corticogenesis is essential for normal brain function. Disruption of these developmental processes is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of some neuropsychiatric conditions. Especially, Reelin, a glycoprotein mainly secreted by the Cajal-Retzius cells and a subpopulation of GABAergic interneurons, has been shown to play a critical r...

Reelin is a large secreted extracellular matrix glycoprotein playing an important role in early neurodevelopment. Several genetic studies found an association between RELN gene and increased risk of autism suggesting that reelin deficiency may be a vulnerability factor in its etiology. Moreover, a reduced reelin expression has been observed in several brain regions of subjects with Autism Spect...

RAS signalling through phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-Kinase) has been shown to have an essential role in tumour initiation and maintenance. RAS also regulates cell motility and tumour invasiveness, but the role of direct RAS binding to PI3-Kinase in this remains uncertain. Here, we provide evidence that disruption of RAS interaction with PI3-Kinase p110α decreases cell motility and prevents ac...

We previously generated a monoclonal alloantibody, CR-50, by immunizing reeler mutant mice with homogenates of normal embryonic brains. This antibody recently was shown to recognize a Reelin protein, which is coded by the recently identified candidate gene for the reeler mutation. However, it is still unclear whether Reelin, especially the CR-50 epitope region, is indeed responsible for the ree...

The expression of reelin mRNA and protein was studied during embryonic brain development in the Nile crocodile Crocodylus niloticus, using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. In the forebrain, reelin was highly expressed in the olfactory bulb, septal nuclei, and subpial neurons in the marginal zone of the cerebral cortex, dorsal ventricular ridge, and basal forebrain. At early stage...

The reelin gene encodes an extracellular protein that is crucial for neuronal migration in laminated brain regions. To gain insights into the functions of Reelin, we performed high-resolution in situ hybridization analyses to determine the pattern of reelin expression in the developing forebrain of the mouse. We also performed double-labeling studies with several markers, including calcium-bind...

The real role of reelin ttractants and repellents shunt neurons into their correct final location. But now Iris Hack, Harold Cremer (Université Mediterranée, Marseille, France), and colleagues have found evidence that reelin fits into neither of these categories. They propose, instead, that reelin converts cells that are migrating in association with each other into individual cells that can st...