Nfi genes regulate the switch between neurogenesis and gliogenesis during cortical development

大脑中的细胞分为两类；神经元或神经胶质。重要的是，两者在发育过程中都来源于一个共同的祖细胞群——放射状胶质细胞。放射状胶质细胞在发育早期产生神经元，而在发育后期产生胶质细胞。控制从神经元生成到神经胶质生成转换的基因仍然没有明确的定义。我建议研究这种开关是如何在放射状胶质细胞中被控制的，重点关注一个已知的调节基因转录的蛋白质家族。

Cells within the brain fall into two categories; neurons or glia. Importantly, both derive from a common progenitor population, the radial glia, during development. Early in development radial glia produce neurons, while later they generate glia. The genes which control the switch from neuron production to glia production remain poorly defined. I propose to investigate how this switch is controlled in radial glia, focussing on a family of proteins known to regulate gene transcription.