| First Author | Pattyn A | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Nat Neurosci | Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 589-95 |
| PubMed ID | 15133515 | Mgi Jnum | J:91076 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3045910 | Doi | 10.1038/nn1247 |
| Citation | Pattyn A, et al. (2004) Ascl1/Mash1 is required for the development of central serotonergic neurons. Nat Neurosci 7(6):589-95 |
| abstractText | The transcriptional control of the differentiation of central serotonergic (5-HT) neurons in vertebrates has recently come under scrutiny and has been shown to involve the homeobox genes Nkx2-2 and Lmx1b, the Ets-domain gene Pet1 (also known as Fev) and the zinc-finger gene Gata3. The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene Ascl1 (also known as Mash1) is coexpressed with Nkx2-2 in the neuroepithelial domain of the hindbrain, which gives rise to 5-HT neurons. Here we show in the mouse that Ascl1 is essential for the birth of 5-HT neurons, both as a proneural gene for the production of postmitotic neuronal precursors and as a determinant of the serotonergic phenotype for the parallel activation of Gata3, Lmx1b and Pet1. Thus Ascl1, which is essential for noradrenergic differentiation, is also a determinant of the serotonergic phenotype. |
