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Maintenance of postmitotic neuronal cell identity

Nature Neuroscience volume 17, pages 899–907 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

The identity of specific cell types in the nervous system is defined by the expression of neuron type–specific gene batteries. How the expression of such batteries is initiated during nervous system development has been under intensive study over the past few decades. However, comparatively little is known about how gene batteries that define the terminally differentiated state of a neuron type are maintained throughout the life of an animal. Here we provide an overview of studies in invertebrate and vertebrate model systems that have carved out the general and not commonly appreciated principle that neuronal identity is maintained in postmitotic neurons by the sustained, and often autoregulated, expression of the same transcription factors that initiate terminal differentiation in a developing organism. Disruption of postmitotic maintenance mechanisms may result in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative conditions.

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Figure 1: Initiation and maintenance of neuronal identity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Allan, P. Kratsios, N. Flames, P. Sengupta, S. Wyler and C. Spencer for comments before submission. We are indebted to M. Ptashne for his insightful comments and suggestions throughout the writing of this review. The authors are funded by the US National Institutes of Health (R01NS039996 and R01NS050266-03 to O.H. and RO1MH062723 and P50MH096972 to E.S.D.) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (O.H.).

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  1. Department of Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Evan S Deneris

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University Medical Center, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, New York, USA

    Oliver Hobert

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Correspondence to Evan S Deneris or Oliver Hobert.

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Deneris, E., Hobert, O. Maintenance of postmitotic neuronal cell identity. Nat Neurosci 17, 899–907 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3731

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