ERK1/2 signalling dynamics promote neural differentiation by regulating chromatin accessibility and the polycomb repressive complex.

ABSTRACT: Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) is a neural inducer in many vertebrate embryos, but how it regulates chromatin organization to coordinate the activation of neural genes is unclear. Moreover, for differentiation to progress, FGF signalling must decline. Why these signalling dynamics are required has not been determined. Here, we show that dephosphorylation of the FGF effector kinase ERK1/2 rapidly increases chromatin accessibility at neural genes in mouse embryos, and, using ATAC-seq in human embryonic stem cell derived spinal cord precursors, we demonstrate that this occurs genome-wide across neural genes. Importantly, ERK1/2 inhibition induces precocious neural gene transcription, and this involves dissociation of the polycomb repressive complex from key gene loci. This takes place indepen

SUBMITTER: Semprich CI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9746999 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature