Emx2 in adult neural precursor cells

Emx2 is a vertebrate homeobox gene involved in the control of the central nervous system development. In the formation of cerebral cortex, Emx2 expression is restricted mainly to the germinal ventricular zone fading away in the first postmitotic neurons. This expression pattern, the severe impairment of cortex organization and the size in mutant mice suggest a role of Emx2 in the control of proliferation and migration of neural precursor cells. The observed persistence of Emx2 expression in adult neurogenic areas in vivo is here confirmed at later stages. We also find that Emx2 is expressed at high levels in adult neural stem cells (ANSCs) in vitro and is down modulated upon differentiation. Overexpression of Emx2 gene in ANSCs has an anti-proliferative effect but it does not influence a particular differentiation pathway. Our results suggest that Emx2 may act promoting an asymmetric mode of cell division thereby increasing the size of a transit amplifying population.