Corticothalamic Projection Neuron Development beyond Subtype Specification: Fog2 and Intersectional Controls Regulate Intraclass Neuronal Diversity.
Corticothalamic projection neurons (CThPN) are a diverse set of neurons, critical for function of the neocortex. CThPN development and diversity need to be precisely regulated, but little is known about molecular controls over their differentiation and functional specialization, critically limiting understanding of cortical development and complexity. We report the identification of a set of genes that both define CThPN and likely control their differentiation, diversity, and function. We selected the CThPN-specific transcriptional coregulator Fog2 for functional analysis. We identify that Fog2 controls CThPN molecular differentiation, axonal targeting, and diversity, in part by regulating the expression level of Ctip2 by CThPN, via combinatorial interactions with other molecular controls. Loss of Fog2 specifically disrupts differentiation of subsets of CThPN specialized in motor function, indicating that Fog2 coordinates subtype and functional-area differentiation. These results confirm that we identified key controls over CThPN development and identify Fog2 as a critical control over CThPN diversity.
Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Center for Brain Science, and Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Maria J
MJ
Galazo
Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Center for Brain Science, and Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Jason G
JG
Emsley
Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Center for Brain Science, and Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Electronic address: jeffrey_macklis@harvard.edu.
Jeffrey D
JD
Macklis
D000818:Animals; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D051379:Mice; D019579:Neocortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000378:metabolism*; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C492170:Zfpm2 protein, mouse