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The FAcilitates Chromatin Transcription complex regulates the ratio of glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation in neural stem cells
Yuhan Lou1,† , Litao Wu1,2,† , Wanlin Cai3 , Huan Deng1 , Rong Sang1 , Shanshan Xie1 , Xiao Xu1 , Xin Yuan1 , Cheng Wu1 , Man Xu1 , Wanzhong Ge1 , Yongmei Xi1,3,* , Xiaohang Yang1,3,*
1Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
2CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518000, China
3Institute of Genetics, Center for Genetic Medicine, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu 322000, China
These authors contributed equally to this work
*Correspondence to:Xiaohang Yang , Email:xhyang@zju.edu.cn Yongmei Xi , Email:xyyongm@zju.edu.cn
J Mol Cell Biol, Volume 16, Issue 4, April 2024, mjae017,  https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjae017
Keyword: FAcilitates Chromatin Transcription complex, neural stem cell, Ssrp, ERR, glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation

Defects in the FAcilitates Chromatin Transcription (FACT) complex, a histone chaperone composed of SSRP1 and SUPT16H, are implicated in intellectual disability. Here, we reveal that the FACT complex promotes glycolysis and sustains the correct cell fate of neural stem cells/neuroblasts in the Drosophila 3rd instar larval central brain. We show that the FACT complex binds to the promoter region of the estrogen-related receptor (ERR) gene and positively regulates ERR expression. ERR is known to act as an aerobic glycolytic switch by upregulating the enzymes required for glycolysis. Dysfunction of the FACT complex leads to the downregulation of ERR transcription, resulting in a decreased ratio of glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation (G/O) in neuroblasts. Consequently, neuroblasts exhibit smaller cell sizes, lower proliferation potential, and altered cell fates. Overexpression of ERR or suppression of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in neuroblasts increases the relative G/O ratio and rescues defective phenotypes caused by dysfunction of the FACT complex. Thus, the G/O ratio, mediated by the FACT complex, plays a crucial role in neuroblast cell fate maintenance. Our study may shed light on the mechanism by which mutations in the FACT complex lead to intellectual disability in humans.