The bHLH transcription factors OLIG2 and OLIG1 couple neuronal and glial subtype specification.

By Qiao Zhou, David J. Anderson. Cell, 2002

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OLIG1 and OLIG2 are basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors expressed in the pMN domain of the spinal cord, which sequentially generates motoneurons and oligodendrocytes. In Olig1/2 double-mutant mice, motoneurons are largely eliminated, and oligodendrocyte differentiation is abolished. Lineage tracing data suggest that Olig1(-/-)2(-/-) pMN progenitors instead generate V2 interneurons and then astrocytes. This apparent conversion likely reflects independent roles for OLIG1/2 in specifying motoneuron and oligodendrocyte fates. Olig genes therefore couple neuronal and glial subtype specification, unlike proneural bHLH factors that control the neuron versus glia decision. Our results suggest that in the spinal cord, Olig and proneural genes comprise a combinatorial code for the specification of neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes, the three fundamental cell types of the central nervous system.

Subfields: Developmental Neuroscience, Molecular Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1aedbf026a9a2d803829e0672d01afd1ab9709d0

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Citations in the corpus

Oligodendrocytes: biology and pathology (2009, background): “In the spinal cord, most oligodendrocytes derive from a specialized domain of the ventral ventricular zone, which first gives rise to motor neuron precursors, and then, after the neurogenic/gliogenic switch, to oligodendrocyte precursor cells/progenitors (OPCs) [107, 181, 183, 214].”
NG2+ CNS glial progenitors remain committed to the oligodendrocyte lineage in postnatal life and following neurodegeneration. (2010, background): “Thus, it is possible that reporter-positive astrocytes arise in these mice because Olig2-dependent OL specification is weakened in NG2+ cells or their progenitors (Zhou and Anderson, 2002).”
An RNA-Sequencing Transcriptome and Splicing Database of Glia, Neurons, and Vascular Cells of the Cerebral Cortex (2014, background): “…expression is important for cell fate determination and cell differentiation (e.g., NeuroD for specification of neuron cell fate, Olig2 for specification of oligodendrocyte fate, and GM98/Myrf for oligodendrocyte differentiation; Lee et al., 1995; Zhou and Anderson, 2002; Emery et al., 2009).”
Non–cell autonomous effect of glia on motor neurons in an embryonic stem cell–based ALS model (2007, background): “Glial cells are closely associated with motor neurons and both are derived from a common progenitor in vivo”
Directed differentiation of embryonic stem cells into motor neurons. (2002, background): “Each of these transcription factors has an essential role in the specification of spinal MN identity (Ericson et al., 1997; Sander et al., 2000; Vallstedt et al., 2001; Novitch et al., 2001; Mizuguchi et al., 2001; Zhou and Anderson, 2002; Lu et al., 2002).”
The Sox9 transcription factor determines glial fate choice in the developing spinal cord. (2003, methodology): “As gray matter astrocytes are known to be at least partly derived from the p2 domain immediately dorsal to the pMN domain (Zhou and Anderson 2002; Pringle et al. 2003), we also analyzed V2 interneuron production in Sox9-deficient spinal cords using antibodies directed against the transcription facto”
The largest group of superficial neocortical GABAergic interneurons expresses ionotropic serotonin receptors (2010, background): “1C,D) (Lu et al., 2000; Zhou and Anderson, 2002; Britanova et al., 2008).”
Developmental genetics of vertebrate glial–cell specification (2010, background): “Olig1/2 null mutant mice show a failure in the development of motor neurons and OPCs in the spinal cord, as well as of all oligodendrocytes in the brai”
Regulation of innate immune responses in the brain (2009, background): “In addition, OLIG1 and OLIG2 have a role in the association of neurons and oligodendrocytes during developmen”
Origin of Oligodendrocytes in the Subventricular Zone of the Adult Brain (2006, background): “Recent evidence in vivo indicates that neurons and some glial cells are closely related in development and originate from common progenitors in ways that do not fit classical models that separate the neuronal and glial lineages (Williams et al., 1991; Richardson et al., 2000; He et al., 2001; Lu et ”