Comparative Transcriptomic Analyses of Developing Melanocortin Neurons Reveal New Regulators for the Anorexigenic Neuron Identity.

ABSTRACT: Despite their opposing actions on food intake, POMC and NPY/AgRP neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) are derived from the same progenitors that give rise to ARH neurons. However, the mechanism whereby common neuronal precursors subsequently adopt either the anorexigenic (POMC) or the orexigenic (NPY/AgRP) identity remains elusive. We hypothesize that POMC and NPY/AgRP cell fates are specified and maintained by distinct intrinsic factors. In search of them, we profiled the transcriptomes of developing POMC and NPY/AgRP neurons in mice. Moreover, cell-type-specific transcriptomic analyses revealed transcription regulators that are selectively enriched in either population, but whose developmental functions are unknown in these neurons. Among them, we found the expression

SUBMITTER: Chen X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7159888 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature