Olig2 is a transcription factor which is required for oligodendrocyte and motor neuron specification in the spinal cord, as well as for the development of somatic motor neurons in the hindbrain. Expressed in the ventral spinal cord as early as 9.5 dpc and scattered in the mantle zone, likely corresponding to oligodendrocyte progenitors migrating out from their site of origin. From 10.5 through 14.5 dpc, Olig2 is expressed in numerous cells in the ventricular and subventricular zones of the lateral and medial ganglionic eminences, suggesting that expression might not be limited to the oligodendrocytic lineage. Olig2 has further been shown to be critical in the proliferation of malignant glioma in brain tumors (Ligon et al., 2007).
