Neurogenesis

Certainly, the nervous system is one of the most complex (if not the most) of the body. In addition to being composed of several cell types (both neuronal and non-neuronal), the correct positioning of each of these is important for functional synaptic connections to be formed. That is, cell differentiation and migration must be coordinated. Thus, a fundamental question is: what mechanisms govern neurodifferentiation and cell migration during the formation of the nervous system?

The differentiation of neural components is a multistepped process. Both cell cycle exit and acquisition of differentiation characteristics involve activation and repression of gene expression profiles by distinct transcription factors.

In other words, the transcriptome of neural precursors evolves rapidly from the end of the mitotic cycle to the definition of the neural lineage. Transcription factors are fundamental in the evolution of neural transcriptome. Specifically, we focus on transcription factors that act in defining neuronal lineages in the spinal cord and sensory ganglia.

Our laboratory clones and characterized the function of transcription factors that act in defining lineages in the spinal cord and sensory ganglia. We focus on transcription factors whose expression appears to be restricted to cells that have exited the cell cycle but have not yet differentiated, suggesting a possible role for this factor in activating the neural program to initiate differentiation.

Our experimental approaches include but are not limited to: in silico analysis of genomic landscapes, short and long-term interference of gene expression, imaging and molecular biology procedures.

Watch the video-poster below (it is in English) about our recent findings in the embryonic Dorsal Root Ganglia