Coordinating neuronal differentiation with repression of the progenitor program: Role of the transcription factor MyT1

Abstract

ABSTRACT The generation of neurons at the correct time and location in the developing nervous system requires a fine balance between gene expression programs that regulate differentiation and maintenance of neural stem cells. During vertebrate neurogenesis, cell fate commitment and differentiation of neural stem cells toward the neuronal lineage are regulated by the opposing activities of the proneural and Notch pathways. Neuronal differentiation is inhibited by high Notch signaling characteristic of neural stem/progenitor cells, and requires the repression of the Notch transcriptional program by mechanisms that are still poorly understood. In a recent study1, we showed the zinc-finger transcription factor MyT1 promotes neurogenesis downstream the proneural factor Ascl1. MyT1 functions as a repressor of many Notch transcriptional target genes, linking the activation of a differentiation program by Ascl1 with the repression of the neural progenitor identity. Here we analyze our findings in light of the current knowledge in the field, and discuss the implications to our understanding of how MyT1 family members operate in vertebrate neurogenesis.