Coexpression of SCL and GATA3 in the V2 interneurons of the developing mouse spinal cord.

The differentiation of neural progenitors into the many classes of neurons that exist in the mature spinal cord is a process that relies heavily on the activation of precise combinations of transcription factors. Defining these transcription factor combinations is an important aspect of research in developmental neurobiology that promises to provide incredible insights into the structure, function, and pathology of the central nervous system. The present study aimed to investigate a possible role for the Stem Cell Leukemia (SCL) gene, a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor gene, in the specification of a population of neural cells in the ventral neural tube. Section RNA in situ hybridisation revealed that SCL is transiently expressed within the V2 postmitotic domain of the developing mouse spinal cord between 10.5 and 13.5 days post coitum. Double-immunofluorescence experiments were subsequently carried out to directly compare the expression of SCL with other V2-specific markers at the cellular level. These experiments revealed that SCL is expressed in a medially restricted subpopulation of GATA-3 producing cells, suggesting a possible role for this factor in the differentiation of the GATA population of V2 interneurons. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.