First published online August 14, 2006
Development 133, 1702e (2006)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Oligodendrocyte differentiation: it's a wrap
The axons of mature neurons in the mammalian CNS are encased in an
insulating myelin sheath, which is made by oligodendrocytes. Although the
regulation of earlier stages of oligodendrocyte development is relatively well
understood, it is unclear how myelination is controlled. The identification by
Wang and colleagues of a new transcription regulator (Zfp488) that controls
this process is, therefore, an important advance (see
p. 3389). Zfp488 is
an oligodendrocyte-specific zinc-finger transcriptional repressor that
cooperates with the bHLH transcription factor Olig2 to promote oligodendrocyte
differentiation. The researchers identified Zfp488 by screening for genes that
were downregulated in the optic nerves of Olig1-null mice, in which
myelin formation is severely compromised. They show that Zfp488 cooperates
with Olig2 to induce ectopic and precocious oligodendrocyte differentiation in
the developing chick neural tube, and report that RNAi knockdown of
Zfp488 downregulates myelin gene expression in an oligodendroglial
cell line. Thus, they conclude, Zfp488 acts as a transcriptional co-regulator
during oligodendrocyte maturation and myelination.
Related articles in Development:
- An oligodendrocyte-specific zinc-finger transcription regulator cooperates with Olig2 to promote oligodendrocyte differentiation
- Shu-Zong Wang, Jennifer Dulin, Heng Wu, Edward Hurlock, Sang-Eun Lee, Kyle Jansson, and Q. Richard Lu
Development 2006 133: 3389-3398.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
