Identification of the PRC1-interacting protein, L3mbtl3 as a novel gatekeeper of neocortical neurogenesis and proneural gene function
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ABSTRACT: The neocortex is comprised of six neuronal layers that are derived in an inside-out sequence. Neurog2, a proneural gene encoding a basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor, is required and sufficient to specify the fate of only early-born, deep-layer neurons, despite being expressed throughout the cortical neurogenic period. To identify potential inhibitors of Neurog2 function, we used a TAP-tagging screen, identifying L3mbtl3, a histone methyl-lysine binding protein that interacts with Rnf2 in Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1), as a novel Neurog2 interactor. We found that L3mbtl3 is co-expressed with Neurog2 and other PRC1 genes in cortical progenitors. In L3mbtl3 knock-out (KO) cortices, upper-layer neurons are generated in reduced numbers, and instead, the cortical progenitor pool is expanded. Transcriptomic analyses of L3mbtl3 KO cortices at early and mid neurogenesis revealed a striking upregulation of negative regulators of transcription, including Rest, a repressor of many neurogenic genes, and an associated downregulation of neuronal differentiation and maturation genes. Notably, transcriptomic changes occur in the absence of any changes to chromatin structure, suggesting that L3mbtl3 influences gene transcription directly and not via changes to the chromatin. Instead, L3mbtl3 represses Neurog2 transcriptional activity in vitro and blocks cortical progenitor cell maturation and neuronal migration in vivo by altering the expression of scaffold genes. L3mbtl3 is thus an essential negative regulator of cortical neurogenesis.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE179377 | GEO | 2021/07/06
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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