Life after transcription: control of the fate of neurons

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The neocortex is a complex structure responsible for higher-order cognitive abilities in mammals. It consists of six cell layers, each comprised of various subtypes of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. These neurons project their axons to specific targets within each layer. All neocortical projection neurons are generated by neural progenitor cells located in the proliferative ventricular zone. In recent decades, significant strides have been made in comprehending the transcriptional programs governing neuronal cell fate specification. Nonetheless, posttranscriptional mechanisms involved in this process remain largely unexplored.

Recently, we found that TrkC-T1, an isoform of the TrkC receptor lacking the kinase domain, determines the fate of corticofugal projection neurons (CFuPN). Our study reveals that the balance between TrkC-T1 and TrkC-TK+, a more widely recognized isoform containing the kinase domain, depends on the type of cell within the developing cortex. Additionally, we demonstrate that two RNA-binding proteins, Srsf1 and Elavl1, work in opposition to establish this balance. Additionally, our data suggests that Srsf1 stimulates the CFuPN fate while Elavl1 stimulates the callosal projection neuron (CPN) fate in vivo by regulating the different TrkC-T1 to TrkC-TK+ ratios.

In this study, we identified a protein translation-dependent mechanism that governs the cell fate switch in the developing neocortex. Our results demonstrate that Ire1α, the Inositol-Requiring Enzyme 1α, regulates global translation rates in the developing neocortex through its dynamic interaction with the ribosome, as well as the regulation of expression of translation elongation factors eIF4A1 and eEF-2. Inactivation of Ire1α leads to decreased protein synthesis rates that are associated with stalled ribosomes and a reduced number of sites for translation initiation. We demonstrate the distinctive sensitivity of neurons determined for the upper layer to translation rates. While eEF-2 is necessary for cortical lamination, eIF4A1 regulates the attainment of upper layer fate in a mechanism of translational control that is dependent on structural elements embedded in the 5’UTR of genes responsible for determining fate downstream of Ire1α. Our findings reveal the developmental control of ribosome dynamics as post-transcriptional mechanisms that coordinate the establishment of neuronal diversity and the assembly of cortical layers.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Funding sources. This study was funded by the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 21-65-00017).

Competing interests. The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

About the authors

V. S. Tarabykin

Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Author for correspondence.
Email: victor.tarabykin@charite.de
Germany, Berlin

E. B. Borisova

Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin; Institute of Neurosciences, National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod; Research Institute of Medical Genetics, Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: victor.tarabykin@charite.de
Germany, Berlin; Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation; Tomsk, Russian Federation

References

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