RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Amoeboid-like neuronal migration ensures correct horizontal cell layer formation in the developing vertebrate retina JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2021.10.15.464510 DO 10.1101/2021.10.15.464510 A1 Rana Amini A1 Raimund Schlüßler A1 Stephanie Möllmert A1 Archit Bhatnagar A1 Jochen Guck A1 Caren Norden YR 2021 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/10/17/2021.10.15.464510.abstract AB As neurons are often born at positions different than where they ultimately function, neuronal migration is key to ensure successful nervous system development. Radial migration during which neurons featuring unipolar and bipolar morphology, employ pre-existing processes or underlying cells for directional guidance, is the most well explored neuronal migration mode. However, how neurons that display multipolar morphology, without such processes, move through highly crowded tissue environments towards their final positions remains elusive. To understand this, we here investigated multipolar migration of horizontal cells in the zebrafish retina. We found that horizontal cells tailor their movements to the environmental spatial constraints of the crowded retina, by featuring several characteristics of amoeboid migration. These include cell and nucleus shape changes, and persistent rearward polarization of stable F-actin, which enable horizontal cells to successfully move through the crowded retina. Interference with the organization of the developing retina by changing nuclear properties or overall tissue architecture, hampers efficient horizontal cell migration and layer formation. Thus, cell-tissue interplay is crucial for efficient migration of horizontal cells in the retina. In view of high proportion of multipolar neurons, the here uncovered ameboid-like neuronal migration mode might also be crucial in other areas of the developing brain.