Specification of oligodendrocytes

Abstract Oligodendrocytes develop from multipotent precursor cells in multiple steps and under tight control of a multitude of transcription factors. Olig2 and Sox10 feature prominently as they are expressed at all stages of oligodendrocyte development and associated with oligodendroglial identity. Other members of the basic helix-loop-helix, homeodomain, high-mobility group, Ndt80-domain, and zinc finger families of transcription factors guide oligodendroglial development through specification, the precursor stage, terminal differentiation, and myelination. They act in close cooperation with regulatory RNAs as downstream targets and with histone modifiers and chromatin remodelers that implement required changes in chromatin structure. As a result of numerous interactions and cross regulations, these factors organize themselves into a gene regulatory network that, in contrast to its constituents, is highly specific and well adapted to its task.