Summary
PROJECT SUMMARY Astrocytes, like neurons, display regional and intra-regional heterogeneity in both function and transcriptional state. This heterogeneity impacts neighboring neurons, making it imperative to identify on a molecular level what drives regional specialization of astrocytes. This question is addressed in the cortex, where astrocytes in distinct cortical layers have distinct transcriptional profiles. The hypothesis that members of the BMP family of secreted morphogens are responsible for driving layer-specific gene expression is tested. This is based on BMP target genes such as ID3
