Defects in cell proliferation and migration have been reported during cortical neurogenesis of Lgdel mice (the mouse model for the large 22q11.2 deletion) [71]. For instance, the proliferation of basal progenitors, a specific class of cortical precursor cells, was reported to be diminished in several regions of the embryonic Lgdel cortex, particularly anterior frontal regions [129]. Consequently, tangential migration of embryonic interneurons from the basal forebrain into the same cortical areas was also affected, since basal progenitors were unable to produce normal numbers of cortical projection neurons. In addition, altered cell cycle dynamics was seen in subsets of SZ-patients without 22q11.2 deletions [130, 131]. Our proliferation analysis of the 22q11.2 neural progenitor cells also supports these results.
