Project description:RNA Sequencing of E14.5 mouse cortical neurospheres in response to Fezf2 over-expression 2 replicates each of GFP-transfected or Fezf2/GFP-transfected E14.5 mouse cortical neurospheres. Paired-end sequencing 101bp.
Project description:Corticospinal motor neurons (CSMN) are one specialized class of cortical excitatory neurons, which connect layer Vb of the cortex to the spinal cord. a master transcription factor –Forebrain expressed zinc finger 2 (Fezf2) – has been identified that is necessary for the fate specification of CSMN. Fezf2 alone can cell-autonomously instruct the acquisition of CSMN-specific features when expressed in diverse, permissive cellular contexts, in vivo. In order to understand the molecular logic underlying the acquisition of CSMN traits upon Fezf2 expression, we compared the in vivo gene expression of FACS-purified cortical progenitors that ectopically expressed Fezf2 to control progenitors. We used in utero electroporation to deliver Fezf2GFP or CtrlGFP expression vectors to neocortical progenitors at E14.5, when they primarily generate CPN of the upper layers. Overexpression of Fezf2 in these progenitors is sufficient to instruct a fate-switch resulting in the generation of CSMN and other subtypes of corticofugal projection neurons. Fezf2GFP- and CtrlGFP -electroporated progenitors were FACS-purified at 24 and 48 hours after surgery and acutely profiled by microarrays.
Project description:Corticospinal motor neurons (CSMN) are one specialized class of cortical excitatory neurons, which connect layer Vb of the cortex to the spinal cord. a master transcription factor –Forebrain expressed zinc finger 2 (Fezf2) – has been identified that is necessary for the fate specification of CSMN. Fezf2 alone can cell-autonomously instruct the acquisition of CSMN-specific features when expressed in diverse, permissive cellular contexts, in vivo. In order to understand the molecular logic underlying the acquisition of CSMN traits upon Fezf2 expression, we compared the in vivo gene expression of FACS-purified cortical progenitors that ectopically expressed Fezf2 to control progenitors.
Project description:Cerebral cortical-derived neurosphere cultures were exposed to ethanol to model heavy alcohol exposure during the period of cortical neurogenesis Keywords: Compared differentiated neurospheres pre-exposed to ethanol to untreated differentiated neurospheres
Project description:We used assay for transposase accessible chromatin with sequencing (ATAC-seq) to discover changes in chromatin accessibility in Pantr2 KO cortical neurospheres
Project description:Ankrd11 is a potential chromatin regulator implicated in neural development and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with no known function in the brain. Here, we show that knockdown of Ankrd11 in developing murine or human cortical neural precursors caused decreased proliferation, reduced neurogenesis, and aberrant neuronal positioning. Similar cellular phenotypes and aberrant ASD-like behaviors were observed in Yoda mice carrying a point mutation in the Ankrd11 HDAC-binding domain. Consistent with a role for Ankrd11 in histone acetylation, Ankrd11 was associated with chromatin, colocalized with HDAC3, and expression and histone acetylation of Ankrd11 target genes were altered in Yoda neural precursors. Moreover, the Ankrd11 knockdown-mediated decrease in precursor proliferation was rescued by inhibiting histone acetyltransferase activity or expressing HDAC3. Thus, Ankrd11 is a crucial epigenetic regulator of neural development that controls histone acetylation and gene expression, thereby providing a likely explanation for its association with cognitive dysfunction and ASD. We used microarrays to compare the gene expression profile in embryonic neurospheres prepared from neocortices of WT and Ankrd11Yod/+ mice E14.5 cortical secondary neurosheres 5 days post-passage were collected and total RNA extracted. cDNA was hybridized on Affymetrix Mouse Gene 2.0 ST Array and gene expression was analyzed using Parterk software. In total, 6 Ankrd11Yod/+ and 5 WT embryos were used.
Project description:The goal of the study was to compare gene expression of P0 wild-type, P0 Fezf2-/- cortices, and Fezf2-/-; Fezf2-EnR cortices. Total RNAs were isolated from P0 cortices dissected from wild-type (n=3), Fezf2-/- mice (n=4), and Fezf2-/-; Fezf2-EnR cortices (n=2), following Qiagen RNAeasy kit instruction.Sequence libraries were made following Illumina RNA PolyA library preparation guide.The libaries were pair-end sequenced (150nt per end). Differentially expressed genes were identified by DESEQ.