Faculty Opinions recommendation of Conversion of fibroblasts to parvalbumin neurons by one transcription factor, ascl1, and the chemical compound forskolin.

Human GABAergic interneurons (GIN) are implicated in normal brain function and in numerous mental disorders. However, the generation of functional human GIN subtypes from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) has not been established. By expressing LHX6, a transcriptional factor that is critical for GIN development, we induced hPSCs to form GINs, including somatostatin (SST, 29%) and parvalbumin (PV, 21%) neurons. Our RNAseq results also confirmed the alteration of GIN identity with the overexpression of LHX6. Five months after transplantation into the mouse brain, the human GABA precursors generated increased population of SST and PV neurons by overexpressing LHX6. Importantly, the grafted human GINs exhibited functional electrophysiological properties and even fast-spiking-like action potentials. Thus, expression of the single transcription factor LHX6 under our GIN differentiation condition is sufficient to robustly induce human PV and SST subtypes.

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Decision letter: Induction of human somatostatin and parvalbumin neurons by expressing a single transcription factor LIM homeobox 6

10.7554/elife.37382.026 ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factor ◽

Parvalbumin Neurons

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Author response for "Identification of Retinal Ganglion Cell Types and Brain Nuclei expressing the transcription factor Brn3c/Pou4f3 using a Cre recombinase knock‐in allele"

10.1002/cne.25065/v2/response1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nadia Parmhans ◽

Anne Drury Fuller ◽

Eileen Nguyen ◽

Katherine Chuang ◽

David Swygart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factor ◽

Ganglion Cell ◽

Retinal Ganglion Cell ◽

Cell Types ◽

Cre Recombinase ◽

Author Response ◽

Retinal Ganglion ◽

Brain Nuclei

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Transcription factor/DNA interactions visualized by electron spectroscopic imaging

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100122654 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 450-451

Author(s):

David P. Bazett-Jones ◽

Mark L. Brown

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factor ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Transcription Initiation ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Phosphorus Content ◽

Spectroscopic Imaging ◽

Electron Spectroscopic Imaging ◽

Dna Backbone ◽

Two Parameters ◽

High Level

A multisubunit RNA polymerase enzyme is ultimately responsible for transcription initiation and elongation of RNA, but recognition of the proper start site by the enzyme is regulated by general, temporal and gene-specific trans-factors interacting at promoter and enhancer DNA sequences. To understand the molecular mechanisms which precisely regulate the transcription initiation event, it is crucial to elucidate the structure of the transcription factor/DNA complexes involved. Electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) provides the opportunity to visualize individual DNA molecules. Enhancement of DNA contrast with ESI is accomplished by imaging with electrons that have interacted with inner shell electrons of phosphorus in the DNA backbone. Phosphorus detection at this intermediately high level of resolution (≈lnm) permits selective imaging of the DNA, to determine whether the protein factors compact, bend or wrap the DNA. Simultaneously, mass analysis and phosphorus content can be measured quantitatively, using adjacent DNA or tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as mass and phosphorus standards. These two parameters provide stoichiometric information relating the ratios of protein:DNA content.

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