Epigenetic regulation of self-renewal and fate determination in neural stem cells

Abstract

Differentiation and self‐renewal are two primary properties that characterize stem cells. Differentiation of neural stem/precursor cells (NSPCs) gives rise to multiple neural lineages, including neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Self‐renewal, by definition, signifies the progressive growth of cells, while preserving an undifferentiated state. A large number of interdependent factors, including transcription factors, epigenetic control, and micro‐RNA regulators, modulate these opposing processes without disrupting the regular neural network. The epigenetic modification of developmental genes, including alterations in DNA methylation, histone modifications, polycomb gene group and noncoding RNA expression, which are passed on through successive cell divisions, has proved to be one of the major mechanisms determining the fate of neural stem cells. Here, we review the diverse epigenetic pathways that decide whether NSPCs undergo proliferation or differentiation into different neuronal cell lineages. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.