A translational repression complex in developing mammalian neural stem cells that regulates neuronal specification

The mechanisms instructing genesis of neuronal subtypes from mammalian neural precursors are not well-understood. To address this issue, we have characterized the transcriptional landscape of radial glial precursors (RPs) in the embryonic murine cortex. We show that individual RPs express mRNA but not protein for transcriptional specifiers of both deep and superficial layer cortical neurons. Some of these mRNAs, including the superficial versus deep layer neuron transcriptional regulators Brn1 and Tle4, are translationally repressed by their association with the RNA-binding protein Pumilio2 and the 4E-T protein. When these repressive complexes are disrupted in RPs mid-neurogenesis by knocking down 4E-T or Pum2, this causes aberrant co-expression of deep layer neuron specification proteins in newborn superficial neurons. Thus, cortical RPs are transcriptionally primed to generate diverse types of neurons, and a 4E-T-Pum2 complex represses translation of some of these neuronal identity mRNAs to ensure appropriate temporal specification of daughter neurons.

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Zahr SK, Yang G, Kazan H, Borrett MJ, Yuzwa SA, Voronova A, Kaplan DR, Miller FD