Developing Brain Cells Routinely Repair Severe DNA Damage During Migration

Developing brain cells routinely repair severe DNA damage during migration

Newborn nerve cells must squeeze through crowded, narrow spaces-through dense tissue, past other cells, between fibers-to reach the areas where they form neural circuits in the brain cortex.

Newborn neurons routinely break then repair DNA during brain cortex formation, study reveals

Newborn nerve cells must squeeze through crowded, narrow spaces—through dense tissue, past other cells, and between fibers—to reach the areas where they form neural circuits in the brain cortex. In a study published in Nature, researchers at Kyoto University's Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (WPI-iCeMS) and their collaborators report that this journey causes widespread DNA damage in neurons, resulting in double-strand breaks in w…

Confined migration induces non-lethal DNA damage in developing neurons

Migratory cells tend to have soft nuclei that deform and penetrate narrow spaces1,2. Extensive nuclear deformation during migration can cause nuclear-envelope rupture and DNA damage in cancer cells, which may contribute to malignant transformation during tumour progression3–6. However, the importance of DNA damage in physiological migration is less well understood. Here we demonstrate that the migration of neurons in developing cerebral and cere…

Confined Migration Causes DNA Damage in Neurons

In a groundbreaking study published in Nature, researchers have illuminated the subtle yet profound effects of confined cellular migration on the genomic integrity of developing neurons. This investigation, spearheaded by Zhang et al., delves into the enigmatic landscape of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) triggered by migration through physically restrictive environments—an event that is essential during brain development. The study reveals that…

Migrating Nerve Cells Experience Routine, Repairable DNA Damage

The physical migration of newborn neurons through dense brain tissue causes routine, widespread double-strand DNA breaks.