TY - JOUR
T1 - A gene regulatory hierarchy for retinal ganglion cell specification and differentiation
AU - Mu, Xiuqian
AU - Klein, William H.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the members of the Klein lab for helpful discussions. Our work on mouse retina development was supported by NIH–NEI grants EY11930 and EY13523 and by the Robert A. Welch Foundation.
PY - 2004/2
Y1 - 2004/2
N2 - Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the first cell type to be specified during vertebrate retinogenesis. Specification and differentiation of the RGC lineage are a stepwise process involving a hierarchical gene regulatory network. During the past decade, a framework of the network has emerged and key transcriptional regulators have been identified. Pax6, Notch, Ath5, and the Brn3 (Pou4f) factors act at different levels of the regulatory hierarchy. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the functions of these and other transcriptional factors in the specification and differentiation of the RGC lineage. We emphasize the regulatory relationships among transcription factors at different steps of RGC development. We discuss critical issues that need to be addressed before a complete understanding of the gene regulatory network for RGC development can be achieved. Future directions in RGC development will inevitably rely on combined genetic and genomics approaches.
AB - Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the first cell type to be specified during vertebrate retinogenesis. Specification and differentiation of the RGC lineage are a stepwise process involving a hierarchical gene regulatory network. During the past decade, a framework of the network has emerged and key transcriptional regulators have been identified. Pax6, Notch, Ath5, and the Brn3 (Pou4f) factors act at different levels of the regulatory hierarchy. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the functions of these and other transcriptional factors in the specification and differentiation of the RGC lineage. We emphasize the regulatory relationships among transcription factors at different steps of RGC development. We discuss critical issues that need to be addressed before a complete understanding of the gene regulatory network for RGC development can be achieved. Future directions in RGC development will inevitably rely on combined genetic and genomics approaches.
KW - Gene regulatory networks
KW - Mouse functional genomics
KW - Pou4f transcription factors
KW - Retina
KW - Retinal ganglion cell differentiation
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U2 - 10.1016/j.semcdb.2003.09.009
DO - 10.1016/j.semcdb.2003.09.009
M3 - Review article
C2 - 15036214
AN - SCOPUS:0842346312
SN - 1084-9521
VL - 15
SP - 115
EP - 123
JO - Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology
JF - Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology
IS - 1
ER -