Essential role of BAF complex interacting with Pax6 in establishment of a core cross-regulatory neurogenic network

摘要

The molecular mechanisms of neurogenic fate determination are of particular importance in light of the need to regenerate neurons. Here we define the mechanisms of installing neurogenic fate by the transcription factor Pax6 acting together with the Brg1-containing BAF chromatin remodeling complex. We show that Pax6 physically interacts with Brg1-containing BAF complex and genetic deletion of either Pax6 or Brg1, in the neural stem cells in the adult mouse subependymal zone results in a strikingly similar fate conversion from neuronal progenitors to glia. The Pax6-BAF complex drives neurogenesis by directly activating transcription factors Sox11, Nfib and Pou3f4, which form a cross-regulatory network that maintains neurogenic fate downstream of the Pax6-BAF complex in neuroblasts. Our work identifies a novel concept of stratification in neural fate commitment with a strikingly specific role of the Pax6-BAF complex in initiating a cross-regulatory network essential for maintenance of the neurogenic lineage in the adult brain.