Lei Xing, Vasiliki Gkini, Anni I Nieminen, Hui-Chao Zhou, Matilde Aquilino, Ronald Naumann, Katrin Reppe, Kohichi Tanaka, Peter Carmeliet, Oskari Heikinheimo, Svante Pääbo, Wieland B Huttner, Takashi Namba
Metabolism has recently emerged as a major target of genes implicated in the evolutionary expansion of human neocortex. One such gene is the human-specific gene ARHGAP11B. During human neocortex development, ARHGAP11B increases the abundance of basal radial glia, key progenitors for neocortex expansion, by stimulating glutaminolysis (glutamine-to-glutamate-to-alpha-ketoglutarate) in mitochondria. Here we show that the ape-specific protein GLUD2 (glutamate dehydrogenase 2), which also operates in mitochondria and converts glutamate-to-αKG, enhances ARHGAP11B's ability to increase basal radial glia abundance...
April 24, 2024: Nature Communications