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Monitoring Astrocyte Reactivity and Proliferation in Vitro Under Ischemic-Like Conditions
Published on: October 21, 2017
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BATF2-mediated control of astrocyte proliferation.
Rachel A Tinkey1, Benjamin J Frostino2, Maria L Habean3
1Department of Neurosciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA; School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA.
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
|September 13, 2025
Summary
Basic leucine zipper ATF-like transcription factor 2 (BATF2) regulates astrocyte cell cycle genes. Loss of BATF2 increases proliferation markers, while its elevated levels suppress cyclin D1, suggesting BATF2 inhibits uncontrolled astrocyte proliferation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Astrocyte proliferation is critical for central nervous system homeostasis and inflammation response.
- Transcriptional regulation of homeostatic astrocyte proliferation is not fully understood.
- Cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) control cell cycle progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel transcriptional regulators of homeostatic astrocyte proliferation.
- To investigate the role of basic leucine zipper ATF-like transcription factor 2 (BATF2) in astrocyte cell cycle control.
Main Methods:
- Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) to identify BATF2 binding sites.
- Analysis of proliferation markers (Ki67, phospho-histone H3) in BATF2-deficient astrocytes.
- Quantitative analysis of cell cycle gene expression.
- Examination of BATF2 and cyclin D1 levels in glioblastoma patient samples.
Main Results:
- BATF2 was identified as a regulator of cell cycle genes in astrocytes.
- Loss of BATF2 led to increased expression of proliferation markers (Ki67, phospho-histone H3).
- BATF2 directly binds to regulatory regions of CDK regulatory subunit 1B, CDK2, and cyclin D1, increasing their transcription.
- Elevated BATF2 levels correlated with decreased cyclin D1 in glioblastoma samples.
Conclusions:
- BATF2 plays a significant role in controlling astrocytic cell cycle gene expression.
- BATF2 acts as a suppressor of uncontrolled astrocyte proliferation.
- BATF2 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for gliomas.
