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Transcriptional control of glutamatergic differentiation during adult neurogenesis

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Abstract

Neurogenesis, the production of new neurons, occurs in two specialized niches in the adult brain, the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus and the subventricular zone (SVZ) adjacent to the lateral ventricles. In the SGZ, neural stem cells (NSCs) give rise to glutamatergic granule neurons that integrate into the granule cell layer. In the SVZ, NSCs generate a more diverse cohort of new neurons, including GABAergic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurons, all of which migrate to the olfactory bulb through the rostral migratory stream. In both adult neurogenic niches, specific transcription factors have been shown to direct fate specification and lineage commitment. This review summarizes current progress on the transcriptional control of glutamatergic neurogenesis in the SGZ and SVZ, highlighting commonalities as well as differences in their transcriptional programs. In particular, we focus on work from our laboratory and others indicating that precise, sequential expression of transcription factors regulates the progression from NSC to lineage-committed progenitor, and ultimately regulates the production and differentiation of adult-born glutamatergic neurons.

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Acknowledgments

Research in the Hevner laboratory was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health R01 080766. R.D.H. received research fellowships from the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada and the American Heart Association (10POST2610067). R.J.K. is a NICHD fellow of the Pediatric Scientist Development Program (NIH K12 HD000850).

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The authors declare that no conflicts of interest exist.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Rebecca D. Hodge & Robert F. Hevner

  2. Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA

    Rebecca D. Hodge, Robert J. Kahoud & Robert F. Hevner

  3. Department of Pediatric Critical Care, University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA

    Robert J. Kahoud

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  1. Rebecca D. Hodge
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Correspondence to Robert F. Hevner.

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R. D. Hodge and R. J. Kahoud contributed equally.

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Hodge, R.D., Kahoud, R.J. & Hevner, R.F. Transcriptional control of glutamatergic differentiation during adult neurogenesis. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 69, 2125–2134 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-011-0916-y

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