Involvement of Dmrt gene family in the embryonic development of the mammalian neocortex

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24500395
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Neuroscience in general
• Research Institution: The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
• Principal Investigator: KONNO Daijiro 独立行政法人理化学研究所, 多細胞システム形成研究センター, 研究員 (00362715)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 神経幹細胞

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.

Free Research Field

神経発生学