Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026
09:16
Suppression of Pro-fibrotic Signaling Potentiates Factor-mediated Reprogramming of Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts into Induced Cardiomyocytes
Published on: June 3, 2018
Neuronal activity-dependent cell survival mediated by transcription factor MEF2
1Division of Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital and Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|October 26, 1999
Summary
Electrical activity and calcium influx promote neuron survival during development. This process involves the transcription factor MEF2 (myocyte enhancer factor 2), which regulates gene expression essential for neuronal survival.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Electrical activity and calcium signaling are crucial for neuronal survival during mammalian development.
- The precise molecular mechanisms linking calcium influx to neuronal survival are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the transcription-dependent mechanisms by which calcium mediates neuronal survival during development.
- To identify key molecular players involved in calcium-regulated neuronal survival.
Main Methods:
- Investigated calcium influx in cerebellar granule neurons.
- Analyzed the role of the transcription factor MEF2 (myocyte enhancer factor 2).
- Examined the involvement of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway.
Main Results:
- Calcium influx activates p38 MAPK, leading to phosphorylation and activation of MEF2.
- Activated MEF2 promotes neuronal survival by regulating the transcription of specific genes.
- MEF2 is selectively expressed in newly generated postmitotic neurons and is essential for their survival.
Conclusions:
- MEF2 acts as a calcium-regulated transcription factor essential for neuronal survival during nervous system development.
- This study defines a novel role for MEF2 in neuronal development, distinct from its known functions in muscle differentiation.
Related Concept Videos
02:23Master Transcription Regulators
Master transcription regulators are regulatory proteins that are predominantly responsible for regulating the expression of multiple genes. Often these genes work in concert to drive a complex process. Activation of a master transcription regulator can lead to a cascade of transcriptional activation necessary for that outcome. These regulators can directly bind to the regulatory sequences of the various genes involved, or they can indirectly regulate transcription by binding to regulatory...
01:16Calmodulin-dependent Signaling
Calmodulin (CaM) is a calcium-binding protein in eukaryotes that controls various calcium-regulated cellular processes. It has four calcium-binding sites that bind calcium to form the calcium-calmodulin ( Ca2+-CaM) complex. GPCR stimulation increases the calcium levels in the cells that bind to CaM and induces a conformational change.
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
The Ca2+-CaM complex does not have enzymatic activity by itself. Instead, the complex binds downstream target proteins, including membrane proteins or enzymes,...
01:14Maintenance of the ES Cell State
The cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass only remain pluripotent for a short time. This state of pluripotency and self-renewal can be maintained in embryonic stem (ES) cell culture by adding specific chemicals or growth factors to ensure the cells can continue dividing and later differentiate into different cell types. In some cases, the cells are grown on a feeder layer of differentiated cells, which provides the growth factors and extracellular matrix components necessary for stem cell...