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During mammalian brain development, neural progenitor cells undergo symmetric proliferative divisions followed by asymmetric neurogenic divisions. The division mode of these self-renewing progenitors, together with the cell fate of their progeny, plays critical roles in determining the number of neurons and, ultimately, the size of the adult brain. In the past decade, remarkable progress has been made toward identifying various types of neuronal progenitors. Recent technological advances in live imaging and genetic manipulation have enabled us to link dynamic cell biological events to the molecular mechanisms that control the asymmetric divisions of self-renewing progenitors and have provided a fresh perspective on the modes of division of these progenitors. In addition, comparison of progenitor repertoires between species has provided insight into the expansion and the development of the complexity of the brain during mammalian evolution., (Copyright © 2015 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.)

Although the vertebrate brain commonly stems from the neuroepithelial tube, the size and complexity of the pseudostratified organization of the brain have drastically expanded during mammalian evolution, resulting in the formation of a highly folded cortex. Developmental controls of neural progenitor divisions underlie these events. In this review, we introduce recent progress in understanding the control of proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitors from a structural point of view. We particularly shed light on the roles of epithelial structure and mitotic spindle orientation in the generation of various types of neural progenitors., (© 2012 The Authors Development, Growth & Differentiation © 2012 Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists.)

During development, directional cell division is a major mechanism for establishing the orientation of tissue growth. Drosophila neuroblasts undergo asymmetric divisions perpendicular to the overlying epithelium to produce descendant neurons on the opposite side, thereby orienting initial neural tissue growth. However, the mechanism remains elusive. We provide genetic evidence that extrinsic GPCR signaling determines the orientation of cortical polarity underlying asymmetric divisions of neuroblasts relative to the epithelium. The GPCR Tre1 activates the G protein oα subunit in neuroblasts by interacting with the epithelium to recruit Pins, which regulates spindle orientation. Because Pins associates with the Par-complex via Inscuteable, Tre1 consequently recruits the polarity complex to orthogonally orient the polarity axis to the epithelium. Given the universal role of the Par complex in cellular polarization, we propose that the GPCR-Pins system is a comprehensive mechanism controlling tissue polarity by orienting polarized stem cells and their divisions., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Asymmetric cell division generates two daughter cells of differential gene expression and/or cell shape. Drosophila neuroblasts undergo typical asymmetric divisions with regard to both features; this is achieved by asymmetric segregation of cell fate determinants (such as Prospero) and also by asymmetric spindle formation. The loss of genes involved in these individual asymmetric processes has revealed the roles of each asymmetric feature in neurogenesis, yet little is known about the fate of the neuroblast progeny when asymmetric processes are blocked and the cells divide symmetrically. We genetically created such neuroblasts, and found that in embryos, they were initially mitotic and then gradually differentiated into neurons, frequently forming a clone of cells homogeneous in temporal identity. By contrast, larval neuroblasts with the same genotype continued to proliferate without differentiation. Our results indicate that asymmetric divisions govern lineage length and progeny fate, consequently generating neural diversity, while the progeny fate of symmetrically dividing neuroblasts depends on developmental stages, presumably reflecting differential activities of Prospero in the nucleus., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Drosophila neural stem cells or neuroblasts undergo typical asymmetric cell division. An evolutionally conserved protein complex, comprising atypical protein kinase C (aPKC), Bazooka (Par-3) and Par-6, organizes cell polarity to direct these asymmetric divisions. Aurora-A (AurA) is a key molecule that links the divisions to the cell cycle. Upon its activation in metaphase, AurA phosphorylates Par-6 and activates aPKC signaling, triggering the asymmetric organization of neuroblasts. Little is known, however, about how such a positive regulatory cue is counteracted to coordinate aPKC signaling with other cellular processes. During a mutational screen using the Drosophila compound eye, we identified microtubule star (mts), which encodes a catalytic subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), as a negative regulator for aPKC signaling. Impairment of mts function causes defects in neuroblast divisions, as observed in lethal (2) giant larvae (lgl) mutants. mts genetically interacts with par-6 and lgl in a cooperative manner in asymmetric neuroblast division. Furthermore, Mts tightly associates with Par-6 and dephosphorylates AurA-phosphorylated Par-6. Our genetic and biochemical evidence indicates that PP2A suppresses aPKC signaling by promoting Par-6 dephosphorylation in neuroblasts, which uncovers a novel balancing mechanism for aPKC signaling in the regulation of asymmetric cell division.

Drosophila melanogaster neuroblasts (NBs) undergo asymmetric divisions during which cell-fate determinants localize asymmetrically, mitotic spindles orient along the apical-basal axis, and unequal-sized daughter cells appear. We identified here the first Drosophila mutant in the Ggamma1 subunit of heterotrimeric G protein, which produces Ggamma1 lacking its membrane anchor site and exhibits phenotypes identical to those of Gbeta13F, including abnormal spindle asymmetry and spindle orientation in NB divisions. This mutant fails to bind Gbeta13F to the membrane, indicating an essential role of cortical Ggamma1-Gbeta13F signaling in asymmetric divisions. In Ggamma1 and Gbeta13F mutant NBs, Pins-Galphai, which normally localize in the apical cortex, no longer distribute asymmetrically. However, the other apical components, Bazooka-atypical PKC-Par6-Inscuteable, still remain polarized and responsible for asymmetric Miranda localization, suggesting their dominant role in localizing cell-fate determinants. Further analysis of Gbetagamma and other mutants indicates a predominant role of Partner of Inscuteable-Galphai in spindle orientation. We thus suggest that the two apical signaling pathways have overlapping but different roles in asymmetric NB division.

Asymmetric cell division is a general process used in many developmental contexts to create two differently fated cells from a single progenitor cell. Intrinsic mechanisms like the asymmetric transmission of cell-fate determinants during cell division, and extrinsic cell-interaction mechanisms, can mediate asymmetric divisions. During embryonic development of the Drosophila central nervous system, neural stem cells called neuroblasts divide asymmetrically to produce another multipotent neuroblast and a ganglion mother cell (GMC) of more restricted developmental potential. Intrinsic mechanisms promote asymmetric division of neuroblasts: for example, the transcription factor Prospero localizes to the basal cell cortex of mitotic neuroblasts and then segregates exclusively into the GMC, which buds off from the basal side of the neuroblast. In the GMC, Prospero translocates to the nucleus, where it establishes differential gene expression between sibling cells. Here we report the identification of a gene, miranda, which encodes a new protein that co-localizes with Prospero in mitotic neuroblasts, tethers Prospero to the basal cortex of mitotic neuroblasts, directing Prospero into the GMC, and releases Prospero from the cell cortex within GMCs. miranda thus creates intrinsic differences between sibling cells by mediating the asymmetric segregation of a transcription factor into only one daughter cell during neural stem-cell division.

Asymmetric divisions that produce two distinct cells play fundamental roles in generating different cell types during development. In the Drosophila central nervous system, neural stem cells called neuroblasts divide unequally into another neuroblast and a ganglion mother cell which is subsequently cleaved into neurons. Correct gene expression of ganglion mother cells requires the transcription factor Prospero. Here we demonstrate the asymmetric segregation of Prospero on neuroblast division. Prospero synthesized in neuroblasts is retained in the cytoplasm and at mitosis is exclusively partitioned to ganglion mother cells, in which it is translocated to the nucleus. Differential segregation of Prospero was also found in the endoderm. We have identified a region in Prospero that is responsible for this event. The region shares a common motif with Numb, which also shows unequal segregation. We propose that asymmetric segregation of transcription factors is an intrinsic mechanism for establishing asymmetry in gene expression between sibling cells.