TOX3 regulates neural progenitor identity
The human genomic locus for the transcription factor TOX3 has been implicated in susceptibility to restless legs syndrome and breast cancer in genome-wide association studies, but the physiological role of TOX3 remains largely unknown. We found Tox3 to be predominantly expressed in the developing mouse brain with a peak at embryonic day E14 where it co-localizes with the neural stem and progenitor markers Nestin and Sox2 in radial glia of the ventricular zone and intermediate progenitors of the subventricular zone. Tox3 is also expressed in neural progenitor cells obtained from the ganglionic eminence of E15 mice that express Nestin, and it specifically binds the Nestin promoter in chromati…
Reawakening the sleeping beauty in the adult brain: neurogenesis from parenchymal glia
Life-long neurogenesis is highly restricted to specialized niches in the adult mammalian brain and therefore the brain's capacity for spontaneous regeneration is extremely limited. However, recent work has demonstrated that under certain circumstances parenchymal astrocytes and NG2 glia can generate neuronal progeny. In the striatum, stroke or excitotoxic lesions can reawaken in astrocytes a latent neurogenic program resulting in the genesis of new neurons. By contrast, in brain areas that fail to mount a neurogenic response following injury, such as the cerebral cortex, forced expression of neurogenic reprogramming factors can lineage convert local glia into induced neurons. Yet, injury-in…
Programming of neural progenitors of the adult subependymal zone towards a glutamatergic identity by Neurogenin2
ABSTRACTWhile the adult subependymal zone (SEZ) harbors pools of distinct neural stem cells that generate different types of GABAergic interneurons, a small progenitor population in the dorsal SEZ expresses Neurog2 and gives rise to glutamatergic neurons. Here we investigated whether SEZ progenitors can be programmed towards glutamatergic neurogenesis through forced expression of Neurog2. Retrovirus-mediated expression of Neurog2 induced the glutamatergic neuron lineage markers Tbr2 and Tbr1 in cultured SEZ progenitors which subsequently differentiated into functional glutamatergic neurons. Likewise, retrovirus-mediated expression of Neurog2 in dividing SEZ progenitors within the adult SEZ …
Imported Stem Cells Strike against Stroke.
Cells with neural stem cell (NSC)-like properties can be isolated from the cortex of adult brains following injury, but their origins and function are unclear. Now in Cell Stem Cell, Faiz et al. (2015) show that subventricular-zone-derived NSCs home to injured cortical area following stroke, where they generate reactive astrocytes.