Topic: functional maturation

Genetic reprogramming techniques have been used with increasing success to generate human neurons from adult somatic cells. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived neurons have been shown as an effective way to investigate normal and pathological neuronal development. Additionally, transcription factor-based direct conversion of fibroblasts into induced neurons (iNs) has been established. Such iNs have been shown to retain age-related epigenetic information of the donor and therefore are viewed as a more appropriate model system for studying human neuronal aging and related pathologies. I

Microglia,the resident macrophages of the brain,originate from yolk sac progenitors and invade the brain at embryonic stages to progressively become integrated in the parenchyma.However, the mechanisms driving the acquisition of the mature microglia phenotype during development are yet unclear.Our hypothesis is that the intrinsic genetic programs that establish the microglial identity early on are fine-tuned by the brain environment.To test this hypothesis,we focused on the hippocampus and the cerebellum,two structures with protracted development.We found that microglial development occurs in