Role of BMP, FGF, Calcium Signaling, and Zic Proteins in Vertebrate Neuroectodermal Differentiation
Open Access
- 19 February 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Neurochemical Research
- Vol. 36 (7), 1286-1292
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-011-0422-5
Abstract
More than a decade has passed since Zic family zinc finger proteins were discovered to be transcription factors controlling neuroectodermal differentiation (neural induction) in Xenopus laevis embryos. Although BMP-signal blocking has been shown to be a major upregulator of Zic genes in neuroectodermal differentiation, recent studies have revealed that FGF signaling and intracellular calcium elevation are also involved in regulating the expression of Zic genes. Different regulatory mechanisms have been found for the Zic1 and Zic3 genes, raising the possibility that functional synergism between them partly accounts for the integration of BMP-signal blocking and FGF signaling in neuroectodermal differentiation. Furthermore, mammalian Zic1 and Zic3 have been found to be neural-cell-fate-inducing and pluripotency-maintaining factors, respectively, leading us to the intriguing question of whether the mechanism underlying amphibian neuroectodermal differentiation is applicable to mammals. Comprehensive understanding of the Zic family genes is therefore essential for the study of the neuroectodermal differentiation and stem cell biology.Keywords
This publication has 58 references indexed in Scilit:
- Expression of ZIC family genes in meningiomas and other brain tumorsBMC Cancer, 2010
- Direct conversion of fibroblasts to functional neurons by defined factorsNature, 2010
- BMP inhibition initiates neural induction via FGF signaling and Zic genesProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009
- Functional and structural basis of the nuclear localization signal in the ZIC3 zinc finger domainHuman Molecular Genetics, 2008
- Identification of Pou5f1, Sox2, and Nanog downstream target genes with statistical confidence by applying a novel algorithm to time course microarray and genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation dataBMC Genomics, 2008
- Calcium signalling during neural induction inXenopus laevisembryosPhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2008
- Zic3 Is Required for Maintenance of Pluripotency in Embryonic Stem CellsMolecular Biology of the Cell, 2007
- Dicyema Pax6 and Zic: tool-kit genes in a highly simplified bilaterianBMC Evolutionary Biology, 2007
- Fgf signaling induces posterior neuroectoderm independently of Bmp signaling inhibitionDevelopmental Dynamics, 2004
- Conversion of embryonic stem cells into neuroectodermal precursors in adherent monocultureNature Biotechnology, 2003