A hominoid-specific signaling axis setting the tempo of synaptic maturation II

Compared to that of other mammals, human cortical neurons exhibit higher dendritic complexity and synaptic density, and the maturation process is much protracted. However, the molecular mechanism governing these specific features is unclear. Here, we report that the hominoid-specific gene TBC1D3, a core duplicon in the human genome, promotes dendritic arborization and maintains the slow pace of synaptogenesis. Furthermore, to gain insights into the mechanism by which the TBC1D3-MICAL1-ATRX complex determines the slow pace of spinogenesis, we conducted chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) experiment using an ATRX antibody targeting the C-terminal region in cultured mouse cortical neurons. Contol neurons (DIV14) and MICAL-FL neurons (DIV14) were conducted ChIP-seq experiment using an ATRX antibody.

与其他哺乳动物相比，人类大脑皮层神经元具有更高的树突复杂度与突触密度，且成熟过程更为漫长。然而，调控此类特征的分子机制仍未明确。本研究报道，类人猿特异性基因TBC1D3——作为人类基因组中的核心重复序列（duplicon）——可促进树突分支形成，并维持突触发生的缓慢进程。此外，为解析TBC1D3-MICAL1-ATRX复合物调控树突棘发生缓慢进程的分子机制，本研究使用靶向C端区域的ATRX抗体，在培养的小鼠皮层神经元中开展了染色质免疫共沉淀测序（chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing，ChIP-seq）实验。其中，体外培养第14天（DIV14）的对照组神经元与MICAL-FL神经元，均采用ATRX抗体完成了ChIP-seq实验。