Single Gene Found to Play Huge Role in Brain Development

    Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, Germany say they have unraveled a complex regulatory mechanism that explains how a single gene can drive the formation of brain cells. Their study (“NeuroD1 reprograms chromatin and transcription factor landscapes to induce the neuronal program”), published in The EMBO Journal, is an important step toward a better understanding of how the brain develops. It also harbors potential for regenerative medicine, according to the scientists.

    Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, are often characterized by an irreversible loss neurons. Unlike many other cell types in the body, neurons are generally not able to regenerate by themselves, so if the brain is damaged, it stays damaged. One hope of developing treatments for this kind of damage is to understand how the brain develops in the first place, and then try to imitate the process. However, the brain is also one of the most complex organs in the body, and very little is understood about the molecular pathways that guide its development.

    Vijay Tiwari, Ph.D, and his group have been investigating a central gene in brain development, NeuroD1. This gene is expressed in the developing brain and marks the onset of neurogenesis.

    In their research article, Dr. Tiwari and his colleagues have shown that during brain development NeuroD1 is not only expressed in brain stem cells but acts as a master regulator of a large number of genes that cause these cells to develop into neurons. They used a combination of neurobiology, epigenetics, and computational biology approaches to show that these genes are normally turned off in development, but NeuroD1 activity changes their epigenetic state in order to turn them on. Strikingly, the researchers show that these genes remain switched on even after NeuroD1 is later switched off. They further show that this is because NeuroD1 activity leaves permanent epigenetic marks on these genes that keep them turned on, in other words it creates an epigenetic memory of neuronal differentiation in the cell.

    “Our research has shown how a single factor, NeuroD1, has the capacity to change the epigenetic landscape of the cell, resulting in a gene expression program that directs the generation of neurons,” wrote the screenplay investigators.

    “This is a significant step toward understanding the relationship between DNA sequence, epigenetic changes and cell fate. It not only sheds new light on the formation of the brain during embryonic development but also opens up novel avenues for regenerative therapy,” says Dr. Tiwari.