Galectin-3 induces neurodevelopmental apical-basal polarity and regulates gyrification
- Luana Campos Soares
- Ning Huang
- Hana Bernhardova
- Viviana Macarelli
- Marva Chan
- Lara Nikel
- Sara Bandiera
- Dongnan Yan
- Dhanu Gupta
- Elisa M. Cruz
- Talia Vasaturo-Kolodner
- James M. Hillis
- Matthew Wood
- Mootaz Salman
- Zoltán Molnár
- Eric O’Neill
- Francis G. Szele
2025-09-03
Apical-basal polarity (ABP) establishment and maintenance is necessary for proper brain development, yet how it is controlled is unclear. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) has been previously implicated in ABP of epithelial cells, and, here, we find that it is apically expressed in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) during neural induction. Gal-3 blockade disrupts ABP and alters the distribution of junctional proteins in hESC-derived neural rosettes and is rescued by addition of recombinant Gal-3. Transcriptomics analysis shows that blocking Gal-3 regulates expression of genes responsible for nervous system development and cell junction assembly, among others. Last, Gal-3 blockade during embryonic development in vivo reduces horizontal cell divisions, disturbs cortical layering of neural progenitors, and induces gyrification. These data uncover a regulatory mechanism for ABP in the brain and warrant caution in modulating Gal-3 during pregnancy.