Epigenetic mechanisms regulating fate specification of neural stem cells

摘要

Neural stem cells (NSCs) possess the ability to self-renew and to differentiate along neuronal andrnglial lineages. These processes are defined by the dynamic interplay between extracellular cuesrnincluding cytokine signalling and intracellular programmes such as epigenetic modification. There isrnincreasing evidence that epigenetic mechanisms involving, for example, changes in DNArnmethylation, histone modification and non-coding RNA expression are closely associated withrnfate specification of NSCs. These epigenetic alterations could provide coordinated systems forrnregulating gene expression at each step of neural cell differentiation. Here we review the roles ofrnepigenetics in neural fate specification in the mammalian central nervous system.