Abstract

Astrocytes, the most abundant cell population in the central nervous system (CNS), are essential for normal neurological function. We show that astrocytes are allocated to spatial domains in mouse spinal cord and brain in accordance with their embryonic sites of origin in the ventricular zone. These domains remain stable throughout life without evidence of secondary tangential migration, even after acute CNS injury. Domain-specific depletion of astrocytes in ventral spinal cord resulted in abnormal motor neuron synaptogenesis, which was not rescued by immigration of astrocytes from adjoining regions. Our findings demonstrate that region-restricted astrocyte allocation is a general CNS phenomenon and reveal intrinsic limitations of the astroglial response to injury.

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Publisher Full Text

Authors

Tsai HH, Li H, Fuentealba LC, Molofsky AV, Taveira-Marques R, Zhuang H, Tenney A, Murnen AT, Fancy SP, Merkle F, Kessaris N, Alvarez-Buylla A, Richardson WD, Rowitch DH

Institution

Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.

Source

Science (New York, N.Y.) 337:6092 2012 Jul 20 pg 358-62

MeSH

Animals
Astrocytes
Bacterial Proteins
Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors
Brain
Brain Injuries
Cell Movement
Green Fluorescent Proteins
Homeodomain Proteins
Integrases
Luminescent Proteins
Mice
Mice, Transgenic
Motor Neurons
Nerve Tissue Proteins
Proteins
Spinal Cord
Spinal Cord Injuries
Synapses
Transcription Factors
Transcription, Genetic

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22745251