Identification of an adult-specific glial progenitor cell

Development ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Wolswijk ◽  
M. Noble

We have found that glial progenitor cells isolated from the optic nerves of adult rats are fundamentally different from their counterparts in perinatal animals. In our studies on bipotential oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte (O-2A) progenitor cells, we have seen that O-2Aadult progenitor cells can be distinguished from O-2Aperinatal progenitors by their morphology and antigenic phenotype, their much longer cell cycle time (65 h versus 18 h), slower rate of migration rate (4 microns h-1 versus 21 microns h-1), and their time course of differentiation into oligodendrocytes or type-2 astrocytes in vitro (less than or equal to 3 days versus greater than 5 days). At least some of the differences between O-2Aadult and O-2Aperinatal progenitor cells appear to be clearly related to the differing cellular requirements of the adult and perinatal central nervous system (CNS). The properties of the O-2Aadult progenitor cells may make these cells ideally suited for the needs of the adult CNS, where rapid exponential increases in the number of oligodendrocytes and O-2A progenitor cells would be inappropriate. However, the properties of the O-2Aadult progenitor cells are such that they may not be able to replace oligodendrocytes in sufficient numbers to repair extensive or recurrent damage in the adult brain, such as in patients suffering from the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis. Moreover, available information about other tissues suggests that the transition from perinatal to adult progenitor cell types may represent a developmental mechanism of general importance.

Development ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 691-698
Author(s):  
G. Wolswijk ◽  
P.N. Riddle ◽  
M. Noble

We have studied the developmental appearance of the O-2A(adult) progenitor cell, a specific type of oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte (O-2A) progenitor cell that we have identified previously in cultures prepared from the optic nerves of adult rats. O-2A(adult) progenitors differ from their counterparts in perinatal animals (O-2A perinatal progenitor cells) in antigenic phenotype, morphology, cell cycle time, rate of migration, time course of differentiation into oligodendrocytes or type-2 astrocytes and sensitivity to the lytic effects of complement in vitro. In the present study, we have found that O-2A(adult) progenitor-like cells first appear in the developing optic nerve approximately 7 days after birth and that by 1 month after birth these cells appear to be the dominant progenitor population in the nerve. However, the perinatal-to-adult transition in progenitor populations is a gradual one and O-2A(adult) and O-2A perinatal progenitors coexist in the optic nerve for 3 weeks or more. In addition, cells derived from optic nerves of P21 rats express characteristic features of O-2adult and O-2A perinatal progenitors for extended periods of growth in the same tissue culture dish. Our results thus indicate that the properties that distinguish these two types of O-2A progenitors from each other are expressed in apparently identical environments. Thus, these cells must either respond to different signals present in the environment, or must respond with markedly different behaviours to the binding of identical signalling molecules.


1989 ◽  
Vol 109 (5) ◽  
pp. 2405-2416 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Godfraind ◽  
V L Friedrich ◽  
K V Holmes ◽  
M Dubois-Dalcq

C57 BL/6N mice injected intracranially with the A59 strain of mouse hepatitis virus exhibit extensive viral replication in glial cells of the spinal cord and develop demyelinating lesions followed by virus clearing and remyelination. To study how different glial cell types are affected by the disease process, we combine three-color immunofluorescence labeling with tritiated thymidine autoradiography on 1-micron frozen sections of spinal cord. We use three different glial cell specific antibodies (a) to 2',3' cyclic-nucleotide 3' phosphohydrolase (CNP) expressed by oligodendrocytes, (b) to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expressed by astrocytes, and (c) the O4 antibody which binds to O-2A progenitor cells in the rat. These progenitor cells, which give rise to oligodendrocytes and type 2 astrocytes and react with the O4 antibody in the adult central nervous system, were present but rare in the spinal cord of uninfected mice. In contrast, cells with the O-2A progenitor phenotype (O4 + only) were increased in number at one week post viral inoculation (1 WPI) and were the only immunostained cells labeled at that time by a 2-h in vivo pulse of tritiated thymidine. Both GFAP+ only and GFAP+, O4+ astrocytes were also increased in the spinal cord at 1 WPI. Between two and four WPI, the infected spinal cord was characterized by the loss of (CNP+, O4+) oligodendrocytes within demyelinating lesions and the presence of O-2A progenitor cells and O4+, GFAP+ astrocytes, both of which could be labeled with thymidine. As remyelination proceeded, CNP immunostaining returned to near normal and tritiated thymidine injected previously during the demyelinating phase now appeared in CNP+ oligodendrocytes. Thus O4 positive O-2A progenitor cells proliferate early in the course of the demyelinating disease, while CNP positive oligodendrocytes do not. The timing of events suggests that the O-2A progenitors may give rise to new oligodendrocytes and to type 2 astrocytes, both of which are likely to be instrumental in the remyelination process.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Ueno ◽  
Takaaki Hattori ◽  
Yuta Kumagai ◽  
Noboru Suzuki ◽  
Satoki Ueno ◽  
...  

This study aimed to investigate whether corneal nerve and corneal stem/progenitor cells are altered in insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I-) treated individuals with diabetes. A group consisting of db/db mice with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and a wild-type group were assessed by neural and corneal stem/progenitor cell markers immunostaining and real-time PCR. Moreover, the expression of corneal nerve and stem/progenitor cell markers was examined in IGF-1-treated diabetic mice. Compared with a normal cornea, swelling and stratification of the corneal epithelium were noted in db/db mice. Beta-III tubulin immunostaining revealed that the corneal subbasal plexuses in diabetic mice were thinner with fewer branches. mRNA expression levels ofHes1,Keratin15, andp75(corneal stem/progenitor cell markers) and the intensity and number of positive cells of Hes1 and Keratin19 immunostaining diminished in the diabetic corneas. Compared with the subbasal nerve density in the normal group, a decrease in the diabetic group was observed, whereas the corneal subbasal nerve density increased in IGF-1-treated diabetic group. The decreased expression of Hes1 and Keratin19 was prevented in IGF-1-treated diabetic group. Our data suggest that corneal nerve and stem/progenitor cells are altered in type 2 DM, and IGF-I treatment is capable of protecting against corneal damage in diabetes.


1991 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 447-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
K A Stöckli ◽  
L E Lillien ◽  
M Näher-Noé ◽  
G Breitfeld ◽  
R A Hughes ◽  
...  

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is a potent survival molecule for a variety of embryonic neurons in culture. The developmental expression of CNTF occurs clearly after the time period of the physiological cell death of CNTF-responsive neurons. This, together with the sites of expression, excludes CNTF as a target-derived neuronal survival factor, at least in rodents. However, CNTF also participates in the induction of type 2 astrocyte differentiation in vitro. Here we demonstrate that the time course of the expression of CNTF-mRNA and protein in the rat optic nerve (as evaluated by quantitative Northern blot analysis and biological activity, respectively) is compatible with such a glial differentiation function of CNTF in vivo. We also show that the type 2 astrocyte-inducing activity previously demonstrated in optic nerve extract can be precipitated by an antiserum against CNTF. Immunohistochemical analysis of astrocytes in vitro and in vivo demonstrates that the expression of CNTF is confined to a subpopulation of type 1 astrocytes. The olfactory bulb of adult rats has comparably high levels of CNTF to the optic nerve, and here again, CNTF-immunoreactivity is localized in a subpopulation of astrocytes. However, the postnatal expression of CNTF in the olfactory bulb occurs later than in the optic nerve. In other brain regions both CNTF-mRNA and protein levels are much lower.


As part of our attempts to understand principles that underly organism development, we have been studying the development of the rat optic nerve. This simple tissue is composed of three glial cell types derived from two distinct cellular lineages. Type-1 astrocytes appear to be derived from a monopotential neuroepithelial precursor, whereas type-2 astrocytes and oligodendrocytes are derived from a common oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte (O-2A) progenitor cell. Type-1 astrocytes modulate division and differentiation of O-2A progenitor cells through secretion of platelet-derived growth factor, and can themselves be stimulated to divide by peptide mitogens and through stimulation of neurotransmitter receptors. In vitro analysis indicates that many dividing O-2A progenitors derived from optic nerves of perinatal rats differentiate symmetrically and clonally to give rise to oligodendrocytes, or can be induced to differentiate into type-2 astrocytes. O-2A perinatal progenitors can also differentiate to form a further O-2A lineage cell, the O-2A adult progenitor, which has properties specialized for the physiological requirements of the adult nervous system. In particular, O-2A adult progenitors have many of the features of stem cells, in that they divide slowly and asymmetrically and appear to have the capacity for extended self-renewal. The apparent derivation of a slowly and asymmetrically dividing cell, with properties appropriate for homeostatic maintenance of existing populations in the mature animal, from a rapidly dividing cell with properties suitable for the rapid population and myelination of central nervous system (CNS) axon tracts during early development, offers novel and unexpected insights into the possible origin of self-renewing stem cells and also into the role that generation of stem cells may play in helping to terminate the explosive growth of embryogenesis. Moreover, the properties of O-2A adult progenitor cells are consistent with, and may explain, the failure of successful myelin repair in conditions such as multiple sclerosis, and thus seem to provide a cellular biological basis for understanding one of the key features of an important human disease.


Blood ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 912-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Siczkowski ◽  
D Clarke ◽  
MY Gordon

Blast colony-forming cells (BI-CFC) and pre-colony-forming unit- granulocyte, monocyte (CFU-GM) in human bone marrow bind to marrow- derived stromal layers grown in the presence of methylprednisolone (MP+), but do not bind to stroma grown without MP (MP-). The BI-CFC bind to stroma and form colonies when overlaid with agar; the pre-CFU- GM bind to stroma and release CFU-GM into the supernatant culture medium (delta assay). These two classes of progenitor may represent similar stages of hematopoietic cell development. Their binding to stroma depends on the presence of heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HS-PG) in the extracellular matrix secreted by the stromal cells. Here, we have analyzed the functional and biochemical properties of HS-PG isolated from MP+ and MP- stromal cultures. HS-PG or isolated HS glycosaminoglycan (GAG) side chains partially blocked progenitor cell binding when they were added to the 2-hour binding phase of the BI-CFC or delta assays. Gel electrophoresis of HS-PG resolved more bands in matrix preparations from MP+ cultures than in preparations from MP- cultures. The blocking activity of the eluted MP+ HS-PG bands depended partly on the amount of GAG attached to the protein core and presumably partly on the structure of the core itself. Time course studies demonstrated that the HS-dependent phase of the binding interaction was limited to the first 30 to 60 minutes of the 2-hour binding phase. The different blocking effects of MP+ and MP- HS indicate that they have different biochemical properties. The HS-GAG in MP+ stroma has a higher degree of sulfation and a greater negative charge to mass ratio compared with MP- HS-GAG. Variations in HS may determine specific binding by hematopoietic progenitor cells and a heparan sulfate receptor is envisaged as acting in concert with further cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) on the progenitor cell surface.


2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1365-1367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin H Kang ◽  
Dwight E Bergles

1989 ◽  
Vol 109 (6) ◽  
pp. 3411-3417 ◽  
Author(s):  
I K Hart ◽  
W D Richardson ◽  
S R Bolsover ◽  
M C Raff

In the rat optic nerve, bipotential O-2A progenitor cells give rise to oligodendrocytes and type 2 astrocytes on a precise schedule. Previous studies suggest that PDGF plays an important part in timing oligodendrocyte development by stimulating O-2A progenitor cells to proliferate until they become mitotically unresponsive to PDGF, stop dividing, and differentiate automatically into oligodendrocytes. Since the loss of mitotic responsiveness to PDGF has been shown not to be due to a loss of PDGF receptors, we have now examined the possibility that the unresponsiveness results from an uncoupling of these receptors from early intracellular signaling pathways. We show that (a) although PDGF does not stimulate newly formed oligodendrocytes to synthesize DNA, it induces an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ in these cells; (b) a combination of a Ca2+ ionophore plus a phorbol ester mimics the effect of PDGF, both in stimulating O-2A progenitor cell division and in reconstituting the normal timing of oligodendrocyte differentiation in culture; and (c) the same combination of drugs does not stimulate newly formed oligodendrocytes to proliferate, even in the presence of PDGF or dibutyryl cAMP. The most parsimonious explanation for these results is that O-2A progenitor cells become mitotically unresponsive to PDGF because the intracellular signaling pathways from the PDGF receptor to the nucleus are blocked downstream from the receptor and some of the early events that are triggered by receptor activation.


1993 ◽  
Vol 121 (6) ◽  
pp. 1397-1407 ◽  
Author(s):  
R D McKinnon ◽  
G Piras ◽  
J A Ida ◽  
M Dubois-Dalcq

Oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte (O-2A) glial progenitor cells undergo a limited number of mitotic divisions in response to PDGF before differentiating into oligodendrocytes, the myelin-forming cell of the CNS. We examined the mechanism limiting O-2A proliferation, and demonstrate that these cells secrete an inhibitor of cell proliferation that can be neutralized with antibodies to TGF-beta. O-2A cells also secrete an inhibitory activity that cannot be neutralized with TGF-beta antibodies. O-2A progenitor cultures express TGF-beta 1 isoform and its transcript, while oligodendrocyte cultures express TGF-beta 1, beta-2, and beta-3 isoforms. Both recombinant TGF-beta 1 and O-2A conditioned medium inhibit the proliferation of O-2A progenitor cells cultured in the presence of PDGF, and this inhibition can be partially neutralized with polyclonal TGF-beta antibodies. Thus, TGF-beta produced by O-2A cells may limit PDGF-driven mitosis and promote oligodendrocyte development. TGF-beta is a less potent inhibitor of O-2A proliferation when these cells are cultured in the presence of bFGF, suggesting that bFGF interferes with TGF-beta signaling. Thus, the production of TGF-beta by cells in the O-2A lineage may account for the distinct effects of PDGF and bFGF on O-2A progenitor cell proliferation. Moreover, our results suggest that TGF-beta may be an important mediator of oligodendrocyte differentiation.


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