| Budget Amount *help |
¥5,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
Fiscal Year 2012: ¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
In this research project, we report that Dmrt3 and Dmrta2, two related mammalian DM domain-containing transcription factors (Dmrt), are critically involved in maintaining the neocortical identity of neural progenitor cells in the developing mouse brain. These factors are highly expressed in neural progenitor cells in the dorsal telencephalon at early stages of cortical development. Dmrt3 and Dmrta2 double mutant brains exhibited a conversion of neural progenitor characteristics in the dorsal telencephalon from a neocortical (glutamatergic neuron-generating) to a subcortical (GABAergic neuron-generating) identity, suggesting that Dmrt3/Dmrta2 negatively regulate the genetic pathway, establishing the ventral cell fate in the telencephalon. Our results suggest a novel mechanism for maintaining neural progenitor characteristics, in which Dmrt3/Dmrta2 blocks ventralization of neural progenitors, thereby ensuring the proper development of neocortical neural progenitors.
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