Evidence for astrocyte heterogeneity: a distinct subpopulation of protoplasmic-like glial cells is detected in transgenic mice expressing Lmo1-lacZ.
The adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) contains a large number of different cell types, which arise from the ventricular (VZ) and subventricular zones during embryonic development. In this study, we used a transgenic mouse expressing Lmo1-LacZ from a randomly inserted promoter/reporter gene construct to identify a glial subpopulation. LMO1 is an LIM domain-containing protein, thought to act in protein-protein interactions. We found first that in the adult transgenic CNS, beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) was expressed in a specific subpopulation of protoplasmic-like cells, which did not express detectable levels of glial fibrilary acidic protein unless a lesion was produced. Secondly, during development, beta-gal(+) cells were found arising from discrete regions of the VZ. Taken together, these results identify a subpopulation of protoplasmic glial cells in the adult CNS and suggest that they arise from a restricted VZ region during CNS development.
Scotti Campos
Lia
L
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. lslbc2@cus.cam.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000502:physiology*; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D005911:Gliosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D060588:LIM Domain Proteins; D007763:Lac Operon / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
D015415:Biomarkers; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D060588:LIM Domain Proteins; C513044:Lmo1 protein, mouse; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D001616:beta-Galactosidase