title: Asleep at the switch: MEK kinases control transit to gliogenesis in developing cortex.
abstract: In this issue of Neuron, Li et al. (2012) show that the neuron/glia cell fate switch of cortical progenitors is regulated by MEK1 and MEK2. The observations resonate with recent studies on the genesis of low-grade astrocytomas and highlight neuronal support functions of astrocytes in the postnatal brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Program in Neuro-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Charles D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Stiles
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics*; D048369:MAP Kinase Kinase 1 / Q000172:deficiency*; D048370:MAP Kinase Kinase 2 / Q000172:deficiency*; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D048369:MAP Kinase Kinase 1; D048370:MAP Kinase Kinase 2; C482127:Map2k1 protein, mouse; C482129:Map2k2 protein, mouse