1. Hierarchical deployment of Tbx3 dictates the identity of hypothalamic KNDy neurons to control puberty onset
- Author
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Xiang Shi, Yanrong Zhuang, Zhenhua Chen, Mingrui Xu, Junqi Kuang, Xue-Lian Sun, Lisen Gao, Xia Kuang, Huairen Zhang, Wei Li, Samuel Zheng Hao Wong, Chuanyu Liu, Longqi Liu, Danhua Jiang, Duanqing Pei, Yi Lin, and Qing-Feng Wu
- Subjects
Neurons ,Mice ,Multidisciplinary ,Neuropeptides ,Puberty ,Hypothalamus ,Humans ,Animals ,Cell Lineage ,T-Box Domain Proteins - Abstract
The neuroendocrine system consists of a heterogeneous collection of neuropeptidergic neurons in the brain, among which hypothalamic KNDy neurons represent an indispensable cell subtype controlling puberty onset. Although neural progenitors and neuronal precursors along the cell lineage hierarchy adopt a cascade diversification strategy to generate hypothalamic neuronal heterogeneity, the cellular logic operating within the lineage to specify a subtype of neuroendocrine neurons remains unclear. As human genetic studies have recently established a link between TBX3 mutations and delayed puberty onset, we systematically studied Tbx3-derived neuronal lineage and Tbx3-dependent neuronal specification and found that Tbx3 hierarchically established and maintained the identity of KNDy neurons for triggering puberty. Apart from the well-established lineage-dependent fate determination, we uncovered rules of interlineage interaction and intralineage retention operating through neuronal differentiation in the absence of Tbx3. Moreover, we revealed that human TBX3 mutations disturbed the phase separation of encoded proteins and impaired transcriptional regulation of key neuropeptides, providing a pathological mechanism underlying TBX3-associated puberty disorders.
- Published
- 2022