Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE61845: Cell cycle re-entry of newly born neurons in response to calcium influx

Bulk RNA sequencing

Once generated, neurons are thought to permanently exit the cell cycle and become irreversibly differentiated. However, neither the precise point at which this post-mitotic state is attained nor the extent of its irreversibility is clearly defined. Here we report that newly born neurons from the upper layers of the cortex, when challenged with calcium influx, can re-enter the cell cycle until postnatal day 3 (P3) in mice. After this point, calcium influx becomes neurotoxic and leads instead to neuronal loss. By performing whole transcriptome analysis of upper cortical neurons at P3 and P5, we delineate the gene expression changes that might underlie this transition. Furthermore, neurons induced to re-enter the cell cycle express the intermediate progenitor marker Tbr2, but not Sox2 or Pax6, suggesting that cell cycle re-entry by neurons is associated with a limited proliferative potential. Our data provides the first evidence that developing neurons have a time-limited capacity to re-enter the cell cycle and offers a potential mechanism for the production of intermediate progenitors during neural development. SOURCE: Li-Huei Tsai (lhtsai_geo@hotmail.com) - Li-Huei Tsai MIT