Epigenetic background of neuronal fate determination.
The development of the central nervous system (CNS) starts from neural stem cells (NSCs). During this process, NSCs are specified in space- and time-related fashions, becoming spatially heterogeneous and generating a progressively restricted repertoire of cell types: neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The processes of neurodevelopment are determined reciprocally by intrinsic and external factors which interface to program and re-program the profiling of fate-determination gene expression. Multiple signaling pathways act in a dynamic web mode to determine the fate of NSCs through modulating the activity of a distinct set of transcription factors which in turn trigger the transcription of neural fate-determination genes. Accumulating evidence reveals that during CNS development, multiple epigenetic factors regulate the activities of extracellular signaling and corresponding transcription factors in a coordinative manner, leading to the formation of a system with sophisticated structure and magic functions. This review aims to introduce recent advances in the epigenetic background of neural cell fate determination.
Wen
Shu
S
Department of Cell Biology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Dalian Medical University, 116044 Dalian, Liaoning, PR China.
Li
Hong
H
Liu
Jia
J
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D008954:Models, Biological; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D014157:Transcription Factors
D014157:Transcription Factors