Characterization of NEUROD4 transcription factor role in spinal cord sensory interneurons during development.

• Grant number: 22/12612-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biology
• Principal Investigator: Chao Yun Irene Yan
• Grantee: Guilherme Norberto de Andrade
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The spinal cord, a component of the central nervous system, is composed of populations of interneurons organized in layers that receive distinct sensory information. The development and growth of the spinal cord occurs through the proliferation and differentiation of cells located in the caudal portion of the neural tube. The spinal cord subtypes of interneurons originate from progenitor cells in the ventricular zone, and the identity of each subtype derives from different gene networks that define the panel of genes present in each transcriptome. NeuroD4 is a bHLH-type transcription factor. In the neural tube, NeuroD4 is expressed in neural cells that have not yet differentiated, located between the ventricular and mantle zones, indicating that it acts in the transition from the proliferative to the differentiation state. However, its role is not known. Data from scRNA-seq showed that, in mice, NeuroD4 is expressed at high levels at this stage of neural tube development along with transcription factors Isl1, POU4F1 and Scrt2, which are expressed in the differentiation of spinal cord interneurons. We hypothesized that NeuroD4 modulates cell proliferation and directly or indirectly regulates the expression of the transcription factors Isl1, Pou4F1 and Scrt2. Therefore, we will investigate possible mechanisms of action of NeuroD4 during the transition from the proliferative to differentiated state in the chicken neural tube.