How NeuroD1 gene can drive the formation of brain cells?

Recently, a research published in The EMBO Journal describes a complex regulatory mechanism that can explain how a single gene can drive the formation of brain cells. The research, published by the scientists from the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, helps them to understand more about how the brain develops. It also shows potential for regenerative medicine. If the brain is damaged, it stays damaged, for neurons generally cannot regenerate by themselves unlike other many other cell types in the body. Neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, are usually characterized by an irreversible loss of brain cells (neurons). One possibility of developing treatments for such damage is to master how the brain develops at the beginning and then imitate the process. But as we all know, the brain is one of the most complex organs in the body, and scientists know little about the molecular pathways which guide the development. A central gene in brain development, called NeuroD1, has been investigated by scientists in Dr. Vijay Tiwari's group at the Institute of Molecular Biology from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. This NeuroD1 gene is expressed in the developing brain and marks the onset of neurogenesis. Tiwari and his colleagues have shown in their new-published study that during brain development, NeuroD1 is not only expressed in brain stem cells but acts as a master regulator of a great number of genes that cause these cells to develop into neurons. They combined neurobiology, epigenetics and computational biology approaches and found that these genes are normally turned off in development, but NeuroD1 activity changes their epigenetic state to turn them on. Remarkably, these genes remain switched on even after NeuroD1 is switched off. The researchers later showed the reason that NeuroD1 activity leaves permanent epigenetic marks on these genes that keep them turned on. That's to say, it creates an epigenetic memory of neuronal differentiation in the cell. This research shows that the NeuroD1 gene, as single factor, has the capacity to change the epigenetic landscape of the cell, leading to a gene expression program that directs the generation of neurons. The findings help scientists understand more about the formation of the brain in the state of embryonic development, thus showing possibility of regenerative therapy. Read more here as you like:http://www.cusabio.com/ELISA-Kit/Dog-Apolipoprotein-B-APOB-ELISA-kit-1042037.html