Histone-binding protein RBBP4 is necessary to promote neurogenesis in the developing mouse neocortical progenitors.

Chromatin regulation plays a crucial role in neocortical neurogenesis, and mutations in chromatin modifiers are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. RBBP4 is a core subunit of several chromatin-modifying complexes; however, its functional role and genome-wide occupancy profile in the neocortical primordium are unknown. To address this, we performed RBBP4 knockdown using CRISPR/Cas9 on neocortical progenitors derived from mice of both sexes at embryonic age 12.

LSD1 Regulates Neurogenesis in Human Neural Stem Cells Through the Repression of Human-Enriched Extracellular Matrix and Cell Adhesion Genes.

Neurogenesis begins with neural stem cells undergoing symmetric proliferative divisions to expand and then switching to asymmetric differentiative divisions to generate neurons in the developing brain. Chromatin regulation plays a critical role in this switch. Histone lysine-specific demethylase LSD1 demethylates H3K4me1/2 and H3K9me1/2 but the mechanisms of its global regulatory functions in human neuronal development remain unclear.

Chromatin remodelling complexes in cerebral cortex development and neurodevelopmental disorders.

The diverse number of neurons in the cerebral cortex are generated during development by neural stem cells lining the ventricle, and they continue maturing postnatally. Dynamic chromatin regulation in these neural stem cells is a fundamental determinant of the emerging property of the functional neural network, and the chromatin remodellers are critical determinants of this process. Chromatin remodellers participate in several steps of this process from proliferation, differentiation, migration leading to complex network formation which forms the basis of higher-order functions of cognition and behaviour.

MiRNA-137-mediated modulation of mitochondrial dynamics regulates human neural stem cell fate.

The role of miRNAs in determining human neural stem cell (NSC) fate remains elusive despite their high expression in the developing nervous system. In this study, we investigate the role of miR-137, a brain-enriched miRNA, in determining the fate of human induced pluripotent stem cells-derived NSCs (hiNSCs). We show that ectopic expression of miR-137 in hiNSCs reduces proliferation and accelerates neuronal differentiation and migration.