Timing neural development and regeneration

Abstract

Regulation of neural progenitor temporal identity is critical to control the chronological order of cell birth and generation of cell diversity in the developing central nervous system (CNS). Single-cell RNA sequencing studies have identified transcriptionally distinct early and late temporal identity states in mammalian neural progenitors in multiple CNS regions. This review discusses recent advances in understanding the mechanisms underlying regulation of temporal identity in mammalian neural progenitors, the implications of these findings for glia-to-neuron reprogramming strategies, and their potential therapeutic applications. We highlight potential future directions of research, including integrating temporal identity specification with proneural factor overexpression to enhance reprogramming efficiency and broaden the repertoire of neuronal subtypes generated from reprogrammed mammalian glia.