Impact of transcription factor Sox8 on oligodendrocyte specification in the mouse embryonic spinal cord

The myelin-forming oligodendrocytes of the mouse embryonic spinal cord express the three group E Sox proteins Sox8, Sox9, and Sox10. They require Sox9 for their specification from neuroepithelial cells of the ventricular zone and Sox10 for their terminal differentiation and myelination. Here, we show that during oligodendrocyte development, Sox8 is expressed after Sox9, but before Sox10. Loss of Sox8 did not impair oligodendrocyte specification by itself, but enhanced the Sox9-dependent defect. Oligodendrocyte progenitors were still generated in the Sox9-deficient spinal cord, albeit at 20-fold lower rates than in the wildtype. Combined loss of Sox8 and Sox9, in contrast, led to a near complete loss of oligodendrocytes. Other cell types such as ventricular zone cells and radial glia remained unaffected in their numbers as well as their rates of proliferation and apoptosis. Oligodendrocyte development thus relies on the differential contribution of all three group E Sox proteins at various phases.     

小鼠Sry基因和Sox基因的克隆分离与鉴定

为了深入探讨性分化分子机制,构建了小鼠基因文库以ＳＲＹ探针筛选,分离到了两组阳性克隆,一组含ＥｃｏＲⅠ／３．５ｋｂ,此片段中载有小鼠Ｙ染色体上的Ｓｒｙ基因．另一组含ＥｃｏＲⅠ／３．０ｋｂ或ＳａｌⅠ／３．０ｋｂ,此片段有小鼠Ｙ染色体之外的Ｓｏｘ基因     

脊椎动物Sox基因家族的系统发生分析

脊椎动物Sox基因是一类高度保守的基因家族,它们编码一类转录因子,参与多种发育过程的调控,这个家族的共有特征是Sox蛋白具有一个约79个氨基酸,可与DNA特异结合的HMG盒区,该基因家族成员众多复杂,对它们的基因结构,功能及进化关系的研究有助于对该基因家族的全面认识,利用已克隆的全部脊椎动物全长核苷酸／蛋白质数据,对这些数据进行序列比对及进化树的构建,分析Sox基因家族成员的分类及分子进化模式。     

Sox2在内耳发育中的作用

转录因子Sox2是Sox基因家族的成员之一,由于它在早期胚胎发生、神经分化和内耳发育等多种重要的发育事件中都起着关键的作用,从而引起了越来越广泛的关注。哺乳动物的内耳主要由6个形态上和功能上不同的感觉区组成,这些区域对声音和前庭信息的传导是必需的,在这些区域的发育过程中,Sox2基因是内耳细胞早期发育所必需的基因。该文就Sox2在内耳发育中的作用作一综述。     

A cancer-associated mutation inactivates a region of the high-mobility group protein HMG20b essential for cytokinesis

Defects in the completion of cell division by cytokinesis have long been proposed to foster carcinogenesis by engendering chromosome instability, but few tumor suppressor mechanisms controlling this process have so far been identified. Here, we identify a carboxyl (C)-terminal region of the high-mobility group protein HMG20b that is essential for cytokinesis, and report that it is inactivated by a cancer-associated mutation. We find that a C-terminal region of HMG20b spanning residues 173–317 is necessary and sufficient not only for its localization to cytokinetic structures, but also for its interaction with the tumor suppressor BRCA2, implicated in the abscission step of cytokinesis. Indeed, expression of this C-terminal HMG20b region suffices to restore cytokinesis in HMG20b-depleted cells. The non-conservative substitution of HMG20b residue Ala247 with Pro, reported in human lung cancer, disrupts these activities of HMG20b, impairing cytokinesis in a trans-dominant manner. Our findings provide fresh insight into the mechanism by which the HMG20b-BRCA2 complex controls mitotic cell division, and implicate heterozygous HMG20b mutations affecting cytokinesis regulation in the genesis of human cancers.