Thirty Years' History Since the Discovery of Pax6: From Central Nervous System Development to Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Pax6 is a sequence-specific DNA binding transcription factor that positively and negatively regulates transcription and is expressed in multiple cell types in the developing and adult central nervous system (CNS). As indicated by the morphological and functional abnormalities in spontaneous mutant rodents, Pax6 plays pivotal roles in various biological processes in the CNS. At the initial stage of CNS development, Pax6 is responsible for brain patterning along the anteroposterior and dorsoventral axes of the telencephalon. Regarding the anteroposterior axis, Pax6 is expressed inversely to Emx2 and Coup-TF1, and mutant mice exhibit a rostral shift, resulting in an alteration of the size of certain cortical areas. Pax6 and its downstream genes play important roles in balancing the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells. The gene was originally identified in mice and humans 30 years ago via genetic analyses of the eye phenotypes. The human gene was discovered in patients who suffer from WAGR syndrome (i.e., Wilms tumor, aniridia, genital ridge defects, mental retardation). Mutations of the human gene have also been reported to be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability. Rodents that lack the gene exhibit diverse neural phenotypes, which might lead to a better understanding of human pathology and neurodevelopmental disorders. This review describes the expression and function of Pax6 during brain development, and their implications for neuropathology.