What are the roles of transcription factors in the inhibiting post-mitotic cell cycle?

Adult neurons are incapable of cellular proliferation due to their abnormal cell cycle. Upon maturation, post-mitotic neurons face terminal cell cycle arrest at the G1/S checkpoint. If cell cycle re-entry is attempted, neurons trigger pro-apoptotic pathways that kill the cell before any proliferative progress can be made (Figure 1). These processes inhibiting neural replication are highly influenced by cell cycle transcription factors, which face neuro-specific regulations to induce such unique cellular events. This paper examines how the regulations and differential functions of neural cell cycle transcription factors facilitate neurons’ inability to proliferate. Specifically, we review how BHLH, E2F, SMAD, FOXO1, c-MYC, p53, and Brn-3a regulate cell cycle arrest, and how E2F1, FOXO1, C-JUN, and p53 facilitate neural apoptosis upon attempted cell cycle re-entry.