title: Sonic hedgehog--regulated oligodendrocyte lineage genes encoding bHLH proteins in the mammalian central nervous system.
abstract: During development, basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins regulate formation of neurons from multipotent progenitor cells. However, bHLH factors linked to gliogenesis have not been described. We have isolated a pair of oligodendrocyte lineage genes (Olg-1 and Olg-2) that encode bHLH proteins and are tightly associated with development of oligodendrocytes in the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS). Ectopic expression of Olg-1 in rat cortical progenitor cell cultures promotes formation of oligodendrocyte precursors. In developing mouse embryos, Olg gene expression overlaps but precedes the earliest known markers of the oligodendrocyte lineage. Olg genes are expressed at the telencephalon-diencephalon border and adjacent to the floor plate, a source of the secreted signaling molecule Sonic hedgehog (Shh). Gain- and loss-of-function analyses in transgenic mice demonstrate that Shh is both necessary and sufficient for Olg gene expression in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Q R
authors.initials: QR
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yuk
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Alberta
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pawlitzky
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Stiles
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Rowitch
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D015415:Biomarkers; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D018257:Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D000076104:Oligodendrocyte Transcription Factor 2; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000032:analysis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000737:chemistry; D015534:Trans-Activators; D000099216:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan 4
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; D015415:Biomarkers; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D053823:Hedgehog Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000076104:Oligodendrocyte Transcription Factor 2; D011506:Proteins; D011509:Proteoglycans; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D015534:Trans-Activators; D000099216:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan 4; C494786:Olig1 protein, mouse; C498633:Olig1 protein, rat; C512773:Olig2 protein, mouse; C509239:SHH protein, human