Transcription factor autoregulation is required for acquisition and maintenance of neuronal identity.
Development
; 146(13)2019 06 21.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31227642
ABSTRACT
The expression of transcription factors that initiate the specification of a unique cellular identity in multicellular organisms is often maintained throughout the life of the respective cell type via an autoregulatory mechanism. It is generally assumed that such autoregulation serves to maintain the differentiated state of a cell. To experimentally test this assumption, we used CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome engineering to delete a transcriptional autoregulatory, cis-acting motif in the che-1 zinc-finger transcription factor locus, a terminal selector required to specify the identity of the ASE neuron pair during embryonic development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We show that che-1 autoregulation is indeed required to maintain the differentiated state of the ASE neurons but that it is also required to amplify che-1 expression during embryonic development to reach an apparent minimal threshold to initiate the ASE differentiation program. We conclude that transcriptional autoregulation fulfills two intrinsically linked purposes:
one in proper initiation, the other in proper maintenance of terminal differentiation programs.This article has an associated 'The people behind the papers' interview.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Fatores de Transcrição
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Diferenciação Celular
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Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans
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Neurogênese
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Células-Tronco Neurais
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Homeostase
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Neurônios
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article