FOXG1 and the aetiology of FOXG1-syndrome

We investigate the diverse roles of FOXG1 in different settings of neurodevelopment. FOXG1 prevents cell cycle exit by binding to the SMAD/FOXO-protein complex and interferes with Foxo1 and Tgfβ transcription (Vezzali et al. 2016).

Another way of transcriptional control is exerted through miRNAs. Our work showed that FOXG1 is implicated in biogenesis of specific miRNAs, i.e. miR200 family, and thereby it affects expression of PRKAR2B that is needed for long term potentiation, a synaptic hallmark of learning and memory (Weise et al. 2019).

FOXG1 has multimodal functions at the chromatin level to control gene activity, for example it binds to chromatin at enhancer regions, alters histone acetylation and accessibility for other transcription factors including NEUROD1 (Akol et al. 2023).

Further reading:

Schäffner I, Wittmann MT, Vogel T, Lie DC (2022) Differential vulnerability of adult neurogenic niches to dosage of the Neurodevelopmental-disorder linked gene Foxg1. Mol. Psychiatry. 

Hoffmann N, Weise SC, Marinaro F, Vogel T, De Pietri Tonelli D (2018) DGCR8 Promotes Neural Progenitor Expansion and Represses Neurogenesis in the Mouse Embryonic Neocortex. Front Neurosci 12:281.