2. Academic Validation
  3. A Casz1-NuRD complex regulates temporal identity transitions in neural progenitors

A Casz1-NuRD complex regulates temporal identity transitions in neural progenitors

  • Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 16;11(1):3858. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-83395-7.
Pierre Mattar 1 2 3,  Christine Jolicoeur 4,  Thanh Dang 5 6,  Sujay Shah 5 6,  Brian S Clark 7 8,  Michel Cayouette 9 10 11
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Cellular Neurobiology Research Unit, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), Montreal, QC, H2W 1R7, Canada. [email protected].
  • 2 Department of Cell and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8M5, Canada. [email protected].
  • 3 Ottawa Health Research Institute (OHRI), Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L6, Canada. [email protected].
  • 4 Cellular Neurobiology Research Unit, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), Montreal, QC, H2W 1R7, Canada.
  • 5 Department of Cell and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8M5, Canada.
  • 6 Ottawa Health Research Institute (OHRI), Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L6, Canada.
  • 7 John F. Hardesty, MD, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
  • 8 Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
  • 9 Cellular Neurobiology Research Unit, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), Montreal, QC, H2W 1R7, Canada. [email protected].
  • 10 Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0G4, Canada. [email protected].
  • 11 Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada. [email protected].
PMID: 33594190 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83395-7
Abstract

Neural progenitor cells undergo identity transitions during development to ensure the generation different types of neurons and glia in the correct sequence and proportions. A number of temporal identity factors that control these transitions in progenitor competence have been identified, but the molecular mechanisms underlying their function remain unclear. Here, we asked how Casz1, the mammalian orthologue of Drosophila castor, regulates competence during retinal development. We show that Casz1 is required to control the transition between neurogenesis and gliogenesis. Using BioID proteomics, we reveal that Casz1 interacts with the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD) complex in retinal cells. Finally, we show that both the NuRD and the polycomb repressor complexes are required for Casz1 to promote the rod fate and suppress gliogenesis. As additional temporal identity factors have been found to interact with the NuRD complex in other contexts, we propose that these factors might act through this common biochemical process to regulate neurogenesis.

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