Department of Clinical Neurobiology, University Hospital and German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Clinical Neurobiology, University Hospital and German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Jul 22;111(29):10726-31. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1320290111. Epub 2014 Jul 7.
Postnatal neurogenesis in mammals is confined to restricted brain regions, including the subventricular zone (SVZ). In rodents, the SVZ is a lifelong source of new neurons fated to migrate to the olfactory bulb (OB), where the majority become GABAergic interneurons. The plastic capacity of neonatal and adult SVZ stem/progenitor cells is still largely unknown. By overexpressing the transcription factor Fezf2, a powerful master gene specifying the phenotype of glutamatergic subcerebral projecting neurons, we investigated whether the fate of postnatally generated SVZ neurons can be altered. Following lentiviral delivery of Fezf2 in the neonatal and adult SVZ niche, we showed that ectopic Fezf2 expression is sufficient to redirect the fate of SVZ stem cells. Thus, based on in vivo and in vitro experiments, we provide evidence that numerous Fezf2-positive OB neurons expressed glutamatergic pyramidal cell molecular markers instead of developing a GABAergic identity. Overexpression of Fezf2 had no effect on transit-amplifying progenitors or neuroblasts but was restricted to neural stem cells. Fezf2-respecified neurons bore features of pyramidal cells, exhibiting a larger cell body and a more elaborate dendritic tree, compared with OB granule cells. Patch-clamp recordings further indicated that Fezf2-respecified neurons had synaptic properties and a firing pattern reminiscent of a pyramidal cell-like phenotype. Together, the results demonstrate that neonatal and adult SVZ stem cells retain neuronal fate plasticity.
哺乳动物的产后神经发生仅限于受限制的脑区,包括侧脑室下区(SVZ)。在啮齿动物中,SVZ 是新神经元的终生来源,这些神经元注定要迁移到嗅球(OB),其中大多数成为 GABA 能中间神经元。新生儿和成年 SVZ 干细胞/祖细胞的可塑性能力在很大程度上仍然未知。通过过表达转录因子 Fezf2,一种强有力的主基因,指定谷氨酸能皮质下投射神经元的表型,我们研究了产后 SVZ 神经元的命运是否可以改变。在新生和成年 SVZ 生态位中通过慢病毒递送 Fezf2 后,我们表明异位 Fezf2 表达足以改变 SVZ 干细胞的命运。因此,基于体内和体外实验,我们提供了证据表明,许多 Fezf2 阳性 OB 神经元表达谷氨酸能锥体细胞分子标志物,而不是发育成 GABA 能表型。Fezf2 的过表达对迁移扩增祖细胞或神经母细胞没有影响,但仅限于神经干细胞。Fezf2 重新指定的神经元具有锥体细胞的特征,与 OB 颗粒细胞相比,其具有更大的细胞体和更精细的树突。膜片钳记录进一步表明,Fezf2 重新指定的神经元具有突触特性和类似于锥体细胞样表型的放电模式。总之,这些结果表明,新生儿和成年 SVZ 干细胞保留神经元命运可塑性。