The cellular mechanisms that regulate self-renewal versus differentiation of mammalian somatic tissue stem cells are still largely unknown. Here, we asked whether an RNA complex regulates this process in mammalian neural stem cells. We show that the RNA-binding protein Staufen2 (Stau2) is apically localized in radial glial precursors of the embryonic cortex, where it forms a complex with other RNA granule proteins including Pumilio2 (Pum2) and DDX1, and the mRNAs for β-actin and mammalian prospero, prox1. Perturbation of this complex by functional knockdown of Stau2, Pum2, or DDX1 causes premature differentiation of radial glial precursors into neurons and mislocalization and misexpression of prox1 mRNA. Thus, a Stau2- and Pum2-dependent RNA complex directly regulates localization and, potentially, expression of target mRNAs like prox1 in mammalian neural stem cells, and in so doing regulates the balance of stem cell maintenance versus differentiation.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2012.06.010DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

stem cells
16
rna complex
12
mammalian neural
12
neural stem
12
complex regulates
8
versus differentiation
8
radial glial
8
glial precursors
8
pum2 ddx1
8
complex
5

Similar Publications

Growth Factor Stimulation Regimes to Support the Development and Fusion of Cartilage Microtissues.

Tissue Eng Part C Methods

January 2025

Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

Scaffold-free tissue engineering strategies using cellular aggregates, microtissues, or organoids as "biological building blocks" could potentially be used for the engineering of scaled-up articular cartilage or endochondral bone-forming grafts. Such approaches require large numbers of cells; however, little is known about how different chondrogenic growth factor stimulation regimes during cellular expansion and differentiation influence the capacity of cellular aggregates or microtissues to fuse and generate hyaline cartilage. In this study, human bone marrow mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) were additionally stimulated with bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) and/or transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 during both monolayer expansion and subsequent chondrogenic differentiation in a microtissue format.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

CD4FOXP3Exon2 regulatory T cell frequency predicts breast cancer prognosis and survival.

Sci Adv

January 2025

Istituto per l'Endocrinologia e l'Oncologia Sperimentale "G. Salvatore", IEOS-CNR, Napoli, Italy.

CD4FOXP3 regulatory T cells (T) suppress immune responses to tumors, and their accumulation in the tumor microenvironment (TME) correlates with poor clinical outcome in several cancers, including breast cancer (BC). However, the properties of intratumoral T remain largely unknown. Here, we found that a functionally distinct subpopulation of T, expressing the FOXP3 Exon2 splicing variants, is prominent in patients with hormone receptor-positive BC with poor prognosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing worldwide, along with the associated common comorbidities of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in later life. Motivated by evidence for a strong genetic component, our prior genome-wide association study (GWAS) efforts for childhood obesity revealed 19 independent signals for the trait; however, the mechanism of action of these loci remains to be elucidated. To molecularly characterize these childhood obesity loci, we sought to determine the underlying causal variants and the corresponding effector genes within diverse cellular contexts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The large majority of Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases are sporadic with unknown genetic causes. In contrast, only a small percentage of AD cases are familial, with known genetic causes. Paradoxically, there are only few validated mouse models of sporadic AD but many of familial AD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) serve as a valuable reservoir of multipotent stem cells important in the regulation of bone homeostasis and energy metabolism. Here, we present a protocol for isolating human BMSCs (hBMSCs) and characterizing their cellular metabolism related to hBMSC functional properties. We describe steps for bioenergetics, cell senescence, and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), together with description of the data analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!