Myrf guides target gene selection of transcription factor Sox10 during oligodendroglial development

Oligodendrocytes generate myelin in the vertebrate central nervous system and thus ensure rapid propagation of neuronal activity. Their development is controlled by a network of transcription factors that function as determinants of cell identity or as temporally restricted stage-specific regulators. The continuously expressed Sox10 and Myrf, a factor induced during late development, are particularly important for terminal differentiation. How these factors function together mechanistically and influence each other, is not well understood. Here we show that Myrf not only cooperates with Sox10 during the induction of genes required for differentiation and myelin formation. Myrf also inhibits the activity of Sox10 on genes that are essential during earlier phases of oligodendroglial development. By characterization of the exact DNA-binding requirements of Myrf, we furthermore show that cooperative activation is a consequence of joint binding of Sox10 and Myrf to the same regulatory regions. In contrast, inhibition of Sox10-dependent gene activation occurs on genes that lack Myrf binding sites and likely involves physical interaction between Myrf and Sox10 followed by sequestration. These two opposite activities allow Myrf to redirect Sox10 from genes that it activates in oligodendrocyte precursor cells to genes that need to be induced during terminal differentiation.