Dscam-mediated Self- versus Non-Self-Recognition by Individual Neurons

Clearly, gene regulation (the turning on and off of the multitudinous genes in the genome) allows the specification of different parts of the nervous system as it allows specification of all parts of the developing animal. Even within a group of neurons, distinguishing similar neurons also can be accomplished by the specific turning on and off of various genes via differential activities of various transcription factors. Moreover, differences in levels of expression of different genes and both regulated and stochastic aspects of posttranscriptional and posttranslational events are all important. Alternative splicing represents another important mechanism that can render distinct cell populations different from one another. The mechanisms regulating the generation of alternative mRNA transcripts are known to have tissue specificity, and elucidation of this type of regulation is an important area of exploration. The generally accepted concept is that tissue-specific accessory splicing factors bind to cis-acting elements in the primary transcript and thus regulate the relative levels of different possible alternative splicing choices.