Ultraconserved elements in the Olig2 promoter.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Oligodendrocytes are specialized cells of the nervous system that produce the myelin sheaths surrounding the axons of neurons. Myelinating the axons increases the speed of nerve conduction and demyelination contributes to the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Oligodendrocyte differentiation is specified early in development by the expression of the basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor Olig2 in the ventral region of the neural tube. Understanding how Olig2 expression is controlled is therefore essential for elucidating the mechanisms governing oligodendrocyte differentiation. A method is needed to identify potential regulatory sequences in the long stretches of adjacent non-coding DNA that flank Olig2.

Methodology/principal find

SUBMITTER: Chen CT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2596485 | biostudies-literature | 2008

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature