The POU domain transcription factor Pou3f1 (Oct6/Scip/Tst1) initiates the transition from ensheathing, promyelinating Schwann cells to myelinating cells. Axonal and other extra-cellular signals regulate Oct6 expression through the Oct6 Schwann cell enhancer (SCE), which is both required and sufficient to drive all aspects of Oct6 expression in Schwann cells. Thus, the Oct6 SCE is pivotal in the gene regulatory network that governs the onset of myelin formation in Schwann cells and provides a link between myelin promoting signalling and activation of a myelin related transcriptional network. In this study we define the relevant cis-acting elements within the SCE and identify the transcription factors that mediate Oct6 regulation. On the basis of phylogenetic comparisons and functional in vivo assays we identify a number of highly conserved core elements within the mouse SCE. We show that core element 1 is absolutely required for full enhancer function and that it contains closely-spaced inverted binding sites for Sox proteins. For the first time in vivo, the dimeric Sox10 binding to this element is shown to be essential for enhancer activity whereas monomeric Sox10 binding is non-functional. As Oct6 and Sox10 synergize to activate the expression of the major myelin-related transcription factor Krox20, we propose that Sox10 dependent activation of Oct6 defines a feed-forward regulatory module that serves to time and amplify the onset of myelination in the peripheral nervous system.

This study examines whether active transport to the inner nuclear membrane, as shown for yeast membrane proteins Heh1 and Heh2, is conserved in metazoans. In support of this, the nuclear localization signal of metazoan Pom121 shares biochemical, structural, and functional properties with those of Heh1 and Heh2, and a Heh2-derived reporter protein targets to the inner membrane in Hek293T cells.

The Lpin1 gene encodes the phosphatidate phosphatase (PAP1) enzyme Lipin 1, which plays a critical role in lipid metabolism. In this study we describe the identification and characterization of a rat model with a mutated Lpin1 gene (Lpin1 1Hubr ), generated by N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea mutagenesis. Lpin1 1Hubr rats are characterized by hindlimb paralysis and mild lipodystrophy that are detectable from the second postnatal week. Sequencing of Lpin1 identified a point mutation in the 5-end splice site of intron 18 resulting in missplicing, a reading frameshift, and a premature stop codon. As this mutation does not induce nonsense-mediated decay, it allows the production of a truncated Lipin 1 protein lacking PAP1 activity.