A research team led by Prof. Lee Sung-hoon of College of Pharmacy, Director Oh Uh-taek of the Brain Science Institute and Dr. Hong Gyu-sang discovered that Anoctamin-1 (ANO1) delivers neurons to appropriate cortical target layers and control the size of the brain during fetal brain development.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) help neurons move to appropriate layers through process extension during cerebral cortical development, thus playing a crucial role in fetal brain development. However, no study has found which role chloride ion channels play in process extension during brain development.

The research team confirmed that ANO1, which is expressed in NSCs, affects process extension of NSCs, delivering neurons to appropriate cortical target layers and controlling the size of the cerebral cortex. Particularly, ANO1-deficient mice showed reduced cortical thickness and disrupted cortical layers.

The research has identified a new role of ANO1 in brain development and it is meaningful that it provided a basis for understanding and treating congenital brain development disorders such as autism, hyperactivity disorder and tic disorder.

The research was conducted as part of the Research Leader Program and Brain Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea with the support from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The article was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.