First published online June 8, 2006
Development 133, 1304e (2006)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
STAT acts via Notch to maintain neural precursors
The three major cell types of the mammalian central nervous system are all
derived from neural precursor cells (NPCs). The undifferentiated state of NPCs
is maintained by Notch signalling and secreted growth factors; NPCs divide a
fixed number of times before differentiating to ensure that the brain contains
the right mix of cells. Now, on
p. 2553, Yoshimatsu
and colleagues report that STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of
transcription 3) acts in a non-cell-autonomous manner through the Notch ligand
Delta-like 1 (DLL1) to maintain NPCs in the embryonic mouse neocortex. They
show that NPCs express STAT3 and that deletion of Stat3 in a subset
of cells in vivo and in vitro produces premature neurogenesis in their
neighbours. STAT3, they report, regulates the expression of DLL1. Moreover,
the knockdown of DLL1 by RNAi blocks the ability of STAT3 to maintain NPCs.
The authors suggest that this previously unrecognized interaction between
STAT3 and Notch signalling might maintain other stem cell populations during
development.
Related articles in Development:
- Non-cell-autonomous action of STAT3 in maintenance of neural precursor cells in the mouse neocortex
- Takeshi Yoshimatsu, Daichi Kawaguchi, Koji Oishi, Kiyoshi Takeda, Shizuo Akira, Norihisa Masuyama, and Yukiko Gotoh
Development 2006 133: 2553-2563.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
