FGF8 controls regional identity in the developing thalamus

The vertebrate thalamus contains multiple sensory nuclei and serves as a relay station to receive sensory information and project to corresponding cortical areas. During development, the progenitor region of the diencephalon is divided into three parts, p1, p2 (presumptive thalamus) and p3, along its longitudinal axis. Besides the local expression of signaling molecules such as sonic hedgehog (Shh), Wnt proteins and Fgf8, the patterning mechanisms of the thalamic nuclei are largely unknown. Using mouse in utero electroporation to overexpress or inhibit endogenous Fgf8 at the diencephalic p2/p3 border, we revealed that it affected gene expression only in the p2 region without altering overall diencephalic size or the expression of other signaling molecules. We demonstrated that two distinctive populations in p2, which can be distinguished by Ngn2 and Mash1 in early embryonic diencephalon, are controlled by Fgf8 activity in complementary manner. Furthermore, we found that FGF activity shifts thalamic sensory nuclei on the A/P axis in postnatal brain. Moreover, gene expression analysis demonstrated that FGF signaling shifts prethalamic nuclei in complementary manner to the thalamic shift. These findings suggest conserved roles of FGF signaling in patterning along the A/P axis in CNS, and reveal mechanisms of nucleogenesis in the developing thalamus.