National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, India.
J Neurosci Res. 2012 Mar;90(3):529-39. doi: 10.1002/jnr.22804. Epub 2011 Dec 20.
Differentiation and self-renewal are two primary properties that characterize stem cells. Differentiation of neural stem/precursor cells (NSPCs) gives rise to multiple neural lineages, including neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Self-renewal, by definition, signifies the progressive growth of cells, while preserving an undifferentiated state. A large number of interdependent factors, including transcription factors, epigenetic control, and micro-RNA regulators, modulate these opposing processes without disrupting the regular neural network. The epigenetic modification of developmental genes, including alterations in DNA methylation, histone modifications, polycomb gene group and noncoding RNA expression, which are passed on through successive cell divisions, has proved to be one of the major mechanisms determining the fate of neural stem cells. Here, we review the diverse epigenetic pathways that decide whether NSPCs undergo proliferation or differentiation into different neuronal cell lineages.
分化和自我更新是干细胞的两个主要特性。神经干细胞/前体细胞 (NSPCs) 的分化产生了多种神经谱系，包括神经元、星形胶质细胞和少突胶质细胞。自我更新的定义是指细胞的不断生长，同时保持未分化状态。大量相互依存的因素，包括转录因子、表观遗传控制和 microRNA 调节剂，调节这些相反的过程，而不会破坏正常的神经网络。发育基因的表观遗传修饰，包括 DNA 甲基化、组蛋白修饰、多梳基因群和非编码 RNA 表达的改变，这些改变通过连续的细胞分裂传递下去，已被证明是决定神经干细胞命运的主要机制之一。在这里，我们综述了决定 NSPC 是增殖还是分化为不同神经元细胞谱系的各种表观遗传途径。
