Fig. 7.

The distinct and overlapping roles of anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 and Bcl-xL in mammalian neurogenesis. Mcl-1 is required at the earlier stages of neurogenesis specifically for the survival of NPCs as they exit the cell cycle and start to differentiate. Our gene dosage data shows that Bcl-xL partially compensates for Mcl-1 in NPCs. As cells become immature neurons, Bcl-xL takes on a more prominent role, becoming the main anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member