SP8 Transcriptional Regulation of During Mouse Early Corticogenesis.

Multiple signals control the balance between proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitor cells during corticogenesis. A key point of this regulation is the control of G1 phase length, which is regulated by the Cyclin/Cdks complexes. Using genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation assay and mouse genetics, we have explored the transcriptional regulation of () during the early developmental stages of the mouse cerebral cortex. We found evidence that SP8 binds to the locus on exon regions. experiments show SP8 binding activity on gene 3'-end, and point to a putative role for SP8 in modulating PAX6-mediated repression of along the dorso-ventral axis of the developing pallium, creating a medial-lateral gradient of neuronal differentiation. Activation of through the promoter/5'-end of the gene does not depend on SP8, but on βcatenin (CTNNB1). Importantly, alteration of the level of expression affects expression during early corticogenesis. Our results indicate that regulation is the result of multiple signals and that SP8 is a player in this regulation, revealing an unexpected and potentially novel mechanism of transcriptional activation.