Shanting Zhao
College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A&F University

Brain is one of the most important organs in human and animals. It is closely involved in learning and memory. During brain development, the newly generated neurons have to migrate for certain distance from their birthplace to their final destination. Disruption of neuronal migration leads to morphological abnormalities and diseases of brains, for example, epilepsy and mental retardation. Neuronal migration is governed by a serious of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Reelin, a large extracellular matrix protein, is one of the key molecules regulating neuronal migration. During embryonic development Reelin is synthesized and secreted by Cajal-Retzius cells located in marginal zone of cerebral cortex. Reeler mice, lacking Reelin, show severe morphological abnormalities in central nervous system, especially in laminated brain structures, cerebrum, cerebellum and hippocampus. The layers in cerebral cortex are inverted. The size of cerebellum is remarkable reduced. The granule cells in hippocampus do not form a dense layer, but are loosely distributed throughout the dentate gyrus. In this talk I will analyse and summerize the function of Reelin in neuronal migration and its molecular mechanism according my study results in last decade.