State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
Sci China Life Sci. 2022 Apr;65(4):757-769. doi: 10.1007/s11427-020-1901-4. Epub 2021 Mar 24.
Nestin is expressed extensively in neural stem/progenitor cells during neural development, but its expression is mainly restricted to the ependymal cells in the adult spinal cord. After spinal cord injury (SCI), Nestin expression is reactivated and Nestin-positive (Nestin) cells aggregate at the injury site. However, the derivation of Nestin cells is not clearly defined. Here, we found that Nestin expression was substantially increased in the lesion edge and lesion core after SCI. Using a tamoxifen inducible CreER(T2)-loxP system, we verified that ependymal cells contribute few Nestin cells either to the lesion core or the lesion edge after SCI. In the lesion edge, GFAP astrocytes were the main cell type that expressed Nestin; they then formed an astrocyte scar. In the lesion core, Nestin cells expressed αSMA or Desmin, indicating that they might be derived from pericytes. Our results reveal that Nestin cells in the lesion core and edge came from various cell types and rarely from ependymal cells after complete transected SCI, which may provide new insights into SCI repair.
神经巢蛋白在神经发育过程中广泛表达于神经干细胞/祖细胞，但在成年脊髓中其表达主要局限于室管膜细胞。脊髓损伤（SCI）后，神经巢蛋白的表达被重新激活，神经巢蛋白阳性（Nestin）细胞聚集在损伤部位。然而，神经巢蛋白细胞的来源尚不清楚。在这里，我们发现 SCI 后损伤边缘和损伤核心的神经巢蛋白表达显著增加。利用他莫昔芬诱导的 CreER（T2）-loxP 系统，我们验证了室管膜细胞在 SCI 后对损伤核心或损伤边缘几乎没有产生神经巢蛋白细胞。在损伤边缘，GFAP 星形胶质细胞是表达神经巢蛋白的主要细胞类型；它们随后形成星形胶质细胞瘢痕。在损伤核心，神经巢蛋白细胞表达αSMA 或结蛋白，表明它们可能来自周细胞。我们的结果表明，完全横断 SCI 后，损伤核心和损伤边缘的神经巢蛋白细胞来自多种细胞类型，很少来自室管膜细胞，这可能为 SCI 修复提供新的见解。
