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During cerebral cortex development, neural progenitors are required to elaborate a variety of cell differentiation signals to which they are continuously exposed. RA acid is a potent inducer of neuronal differentiation as it was found to influence cortical development. We report herein that TBR2, a transcription factor specific to Intermediate (Basal) Neural Progenitors (INPs), represses activation of the RA responsive element and expression of RA target genes in cell lines. This repressive action on RA signaling was functionally confirmed by the decrease of RA-mediated neuronal differentiation in neural stem cells stably overexpressing TBR2. In vivo mapping of RA activity in the developing cortex indicated that RA activity is detected in radial glial cells and subsequently downregulated in INPs, revealing a fine cell-type specific regulation of its signaling. Thus, TBR2 might be a molecular player in opposing RA signaling in INPs. Interestingly, this negative regulation is achieved at least in part by directly repressing the critical nuclear RA co-factor ZFP423. Indeed, we found ZFP423 to be expressed in the developing cortex and promote RA-dependent neuronal differentiation. These data indicate that TBR2 contributes to suppressing RA signaling in INPs, thereby enabling them to re-enter the cell cycle and delay neuronal differentiation., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The T-box containing Tbr2 gene encodes for a transcription factor essential for the specification of the intermediate neural progenitors (INPs) originating the excitatory neurons of the cerebral cortex. However, its overall mechanism of action, direct target genes and cofactors remain unknown. Herein, we carried out global gene expression profiling combined with genome-wide binding site identification to determine the molecular pathways regulated by TBR2 in INPs. This analysis led to the identification of novel protein-protein interactions that control multiple features of INPs including cell-type identity, morphology, proliferation and migration dynamics. In particular, NEUROG2 and JMJD3 were found to associate with TBR2 revealing unexplored TBR2-dependent mechanisms. These interactions can explain, at least in part, the role of this transcription factor in the implementation of the molecular program controlling developmental milestones during corticogenesis. These data identify TBR2 as a major determinant of the INP-specific traits by regulating both genetic and epigenetic pathways., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

During development, neural progenitor cells (NPCs) that are capable of self-renewing maintain a proliferative cellular pool while generating all differentiated neural cell components. Although the genetic network of transcription factors (TFs) required for neural specification has been well characterized, the unique set of histone modifications that accompanies this process has only recently started to be investigated. In vitro neural differentiation of pluripotent stem cells is emerging as a powerful system to examine epigenetic programs. Deciphering the histone code and how it shapes the chromatin environment will reveal the intimate link between epigenetic changes and mechanisms for neural fate determination in the developing nervous system. Furthermore, it will offer a molecular framework for a stringent comparison between native and induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) generated by direct neural cell conversion., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mutations in the Aristaless-related homeobox (ARX) gene are found in a spectrum of epilepsy and X-linked intellectual disability disorders. During development Arx is expressed in pallial ventricular zone (VZ) progenitor cells where the excitatory projection neurons of the cortex are born. Arx(-/Y) mice were shown to have decreased proliferation in the cortical VZ resulting in smaller brains; however, the basis for this reduced proliferation was not established. To determine the role of ARX on cell cycle dynamics in cortical progenitor cells, we generated cerebral cortex-specific Arx mouse mutants (cKO). The loss of pallial Arx resulted in the reduction of cortical progenitor cells, particularly the proliferation of intermediate progenitor cells (IPCs) was affected. Later in development and postnatally cKO brains showed a reduction of upper layer but not deeper layer neurons consistent with the IPC defect. Transcriptional profile analysis of E14.5 Arx-ablated cortices compared with control revealed that CDKN1C, an inhibitor of cell cycle progression, is overexpressed in the cortical VZ and SVZ of Arx KOs throughout corticogenesis. We also identified ARX as a direct regulator of Cdkn1c transcription. Together these data support a model where ARX regulates the expansion of cortical progenitor cells through repression of Cdkn1c., (© The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)