AUTHOR=Miquelajáuregui Amaya , Sandoval-Schaefer Teresa , Martínez-Armenta Miriam , Pérez-Martínez Leonor , Cárabez Alfonso , Zhao Yangu , Heide Michael , Alvarez-Bolado Gonzalo , Varela-Echavarría Alfredo 

TITLE=LIM homeobox protein 5 (Lhx5) is essential for mamillary body development

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroanatomy

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroanatomy/articles/10.3389/fnana.2015.00136

DOI=10.3389/fnana.2015.00136

ISSN=1662-5129

ABSTRACT=<p>The mamillary body (MM) is a group of hypothalamic nuclei related to memory and spatial navigation that interconnects hippocampal, thalamic, and tegmental regions. Here we demonstrate that <italic>Lhx5</italic>, a LIM-HD domain transcription factor expressed early in the developing posterior hypothalamus, is required for the generation of the MM and its derived tracts. The MM markers <italic>Foxb1</italic>, <italic>Sim2</italic>, and <italic>Lhx1</italic> are absent in Lhx5 knock-out mice from early embryonic stages, suggesting abnormal specification of this region. This was supported by the absence of <italic>Nkx2.1</italic> and expansion of <italic>Shh</italic> in the prospective mamillary area. Interestingly, we also found an ectopic domain expressing <italic>Lhx2</italic> and <italic>Lhx9</italic> along the anterio-posterior hypothalamic axis. Our results suggest that Lhx5 controls early aspects of hypothalamic development by regulating gene expression and cellular specification in the prospective MM.</p>