Identification of genome-wide targets of Olig2 in the adult mouse spinal cord using ChIP-Seq

In jawed vertebrates, oligodendrocytes (OLs) are the myelin-producing glial cells responsible for ensheathment of axons within the central nervous system and are also crucial for remyelination following injury or disease. Olig2 is a crucial factor in the specification and differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) that give rise to mature, myelin-producing OLs in the developing and postnatal CNS; however, its role in adulthood is less well understood. To investigate the role Olig2 plays in regulating gene expression in the adult OL lineage in a physiologically-relevant context, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by next generation sequencing analysis (ChIP-Seq) using whole spinal cord tissue harvested from adult mice. We found that many of the Olig2-bound sites were associated with genes with biological processes corresponding to OL differentiation (Nkx2.2, Nkx6.2, and Sip1), myelination and ensheathment (Mbp, Cldn11, and Mobp), as well as cell cycle and cytoskeletal regulation. This suggests Olig2 continues to play a critical role in processes related to OL differentiation and myelination well into adulthood.