Abstract

D-amino acids are increasingly recognized as important signaling molecules in the mammalian central nervous system. However, the D-stereoisomer of the amino acid with the fastest in vitro spontaneous racemization rate, cysteine, has not been examined in mammals. Using chiral high-performance liquid chromatography and an stereospecific luciferase assay, we identify endogenous D-cysteine in the mammalian brain. We identify serine racemase (SR), which generates the NMDA glutamate receptor co-agonist D-serine, as a candidate biosynthetic enzyme for D-cysteine. Levels of D-cysteine are enriched over twentyfold in the embryonic mouse brain compared to the adult. D-cysteine reduces the proliferation of cultured mouse embryonic neural progenitor cells (NPCs) by approximately 50%, effects not shared with D-serine or L-cysteine. The antiproliferative effect of D-cysteine is mediated by the transcription factors FoxO1 and FoxO3a. The selective influence of D-cysteine on NPC proliferation is reflected in overgrowth and aberrant lamination of the cerebral cortex in neonatal SR knockout mice. Finally, we perform an unbiased screen for D-cysteine-binding proteins in NPCs by immunoprecipitation with a D-cysteine-specific antibody followed by mass spectrometry. This approach identifies myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKS) as a putative D-cysteine-binding protein. Together, these results establish endogenous mammalian D-cysteine and implicate it as a physiologic regulator of NPC homeostasis in the developing brain.