- Parichha, Arpan;
- Suresh, Varun;
- Chatterjee, Mallika;
- Kshirsagar, Aditya;
- Ben-Reuven, Lihi;
- Olender, Tsviya;
- Taketo, M Mark;
- Radosevic, Velena;
- Bobic-Rasonja, Mihaela;
- Trnski, Sara;
- Holtzman, Michael J;
- Jovanov-Milosevic, Nataša;
- Reiner, Orly;
- Tole, Shubha
The choroid plexus secretes cerebrospinal fluid and is critical for the development and function of the brain. In the telencephalon, the choroid plexus epithelium arises from the Wnt- expressing cortical hem. Canonical Wnt signaling pathway molecules such as nuclear β-CATENIN are expressed in the mouse and human embryonic choroid plexus epithelium indicating that this pathway is active. Point mutations in human β-CATENIN are known to result in the constitutive activation of canonical Wnt signaling. In a mouse model that recapitulates this perturbation, we report a loss of choroid plexus epithelial identity and an apparent transformation of this tissue to a neuronal identity. Aspects of this phenomenon are recapitulated in human embryonic stem cell derived organoids. The choroid plexus is also disrupted when β-Catenin is conditionally inactivated. Together, our results indicate that canonical Wnt signaling is required in a precise and regulated manner for normal choroid plexus development in the mammalian brain.