A retinoic acid autoregulatory loop governing prefrontal–motor arealization

Abstract

The frontal lobe comprises the prefrontal association cortex (PFC), which supports complex cognition and goal-directed behaviour, and the motor cortex (MC), which executes movement1–14. The establishment of distinct regional identities and connections along the sensorimotor-to-association axis provides a fundamental scaffold for cortical areal organization and function15–19. Retinoic acid (RA) signalling has emerged as a key regulator of PFC development19–26. However, the mechanisms that spatially confine RA signalling within the developing PFC, and the downstream RA-responsive gene networks, remain poorly understood. Here we define an RA-associated gene regulatory network in the developing human PFC and identify MEIS2, which encodes a transcription factor linked to intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder, as a key hub of this network. Conditional deletion of Meis2 in postmitotic cortical excitatory neurons in mice results in a partial respecification of prospective prefrontal association territories towards motor-like molecular and connectivity features, highlighting a critical role of postmitotic neurons in establishing and maintaining cortical areal identities. Concomitant with Meis2 loss, the population of excitatory neurons expressing the RA-synthesizing enzyme ALDH1A3, and consequently RA signalling itself, is substantially reduced in the developing medial PFC (mPFC). These findings reveal a conserved autoregulatory loop, RA → MEIS2 → ALDH1A3 → RA, that reinforces a PFC-enriched RA gradient and organizes the MC–PFC axis. Together, our findings reveal a postmitotic mechanism by which specific features of neuronal identity reinforce RA signalling to define key features of prefrontal and motor cortical territories, linking a classic morphogen to transcriptional identity, neural circuit formation and function, and potentially to neuropsychiatric disorders. MEIS2, encoding a transcription factor linked to intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder, is a key hub of a retinoic-acid-associated gene regulatory network.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Nature, 2026 · DOI ↗