Brain regionalization by Polycomb‐group proteins and chromatin accessibility

Abstract

During brain development, neural precursor cells (NPCs) in different brain regions produce different types of neurons, and each of these regions plays a different role in the adult brain. Therefore, precise regionalization is essential in the early stages of brain development, and irregular regionalization has been proposed as the cause of neurodevelopmental disorders. The mechanisms underlying brain regionalization have been well studied in terms of morphogen-induced expression of critical transcription factors for regionalization. NPC potential in different brain regions is defined by chromatin structures that regulate the plasticity of gene expression. Herein, we present recent findings on the importance of chromatin structure in brain regionalization, particularly with respect to its regulation by Polycomb-group proteins and chromatin accessibility.

Epigenetic regulation in adult neural stem cells

“…There are two types of PcG complexes: polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) ( Almeida et al, 2020 ; Blackledge and Klose, 2021 ). Both PRC complexes regulate chromatin accessibility and expression of region-specific transcription factors in NPC differentiation and brain regionalization ( Eto and Kishi, 2021 ). EZH2 is a key member of PRC2 that catalyzes H3K27me3 formation.…”