Local and long-range endogenous resting potential gradients antagonistically regulate apoptosis and proliferation in the embryonic CNS

This study explores how bioelectric signals, specifically transmembrane voltage potentials (Vmem), influence brain development in Xenopus embryos. These signals act as instructive factors, guiding processes like eye and brain formation. The research found that disrupting local bioelectric signals within the developing neural tube increases cell death (apoptosis) and decreases cell division (proliferation), leading to brain mispatterning. Conversely, disrupting bioelectric signals from distant regions has the opposite effect, decreasing apoptosis and increasing proliferation, while maintaining normal brain patterning. The combined disruption of both local and distant bioelectric signals results in opposing effects on cell death and division. These findings suggest that brain and spinal cord development relies on a binary control system of local and long-range bioelectric signals to regulate apoptosis and proliferation.

• 1
  Disrupting local bioelectric signals in the developing neural tube increases apoptosis and decreases proliferation, leading to brain mispatterning.
• 2
  Disrupting distant bioelectric signals decreases apoptosis and increases proliferation in the brain, without disrupting normal brain patterning.
• 3
  Local and distant bioelectric signals have antagonistic effects on apoptosis and proliferation, forming a binary control system for fine-tuning these processes in the developing CNS.