The IBC2 research group of Stefanie Oess recently discovered that the protein Nosip is crucial for the function of neural stem/progenitor cells and thus critical for the complex process of brain development. In previous work, the group had already elucidated that the E3 ligase Nosip is a regulator of forebrain and craniofacial development in mice.

In their latest study, the researchers now combined in vivo and in vitro techniques and applied state-of-the-art proteomics to describe a novel function of Nosip upstream of Retinol-binding protein 1 (Rbp1) in early neurogenesis.

Using an interdisciplinary approach combining the two model systems of mouse and Xenopus, the team of Stefanie Oess in collaboration with the group of Susanne Kühl from the University of Ulm have elucidated the role of Nosip as critical factor for neural stem cell/progenitor self-renewal and neurogenesis.

The study contributes to a more detailed understanding of developmental neurogenesis and provides knowledge needed for the design of novel therapeutic strategies for central nervous system repair. The results have now been published online in Developmental Biology (Hoffmeister et al, 2017).