title: Coculture with endothelial cells reduces the population of cycling LeX neural precursors but increases that of quiescent cells with a side population phenotype.
abstract: Neural stem cell proliferation and differentiation are regulated by external cues from their microenvironment. As endothelial cells are closely associated with neural stem cell in brain germinal zones, we investigated whether endothelial cells may interfere with neurogenesis. Neural precursor cells (NPC) from telencephalon of EGFP mouse embryos were cocultured in direct contact with endothelial cells. Endothelial cells did not modify the overall proliferation and apoptosis of neural cells, albeit they transiently delayed spontaneous apoptosis. These effects appeared to be specific to endothelial cells since a decrease in proliferation and a raise in apoptosis were observed in cocultures with fibroblasts. Endothelial cells stimulated the differentiation of NPC into astrocytes and into neurons, whereas they reduced differentiation into oligodendrocytes in comparison to adherent cultures on polyornithine. Determination of NPC clonogenicity and quantification of LeX expression, a marker for NPC, showed that endothelial cells decreased the number of cycling NPC. On the other hand, the presence of endothelial cells increased the number of neural cells having "side population" phenotype, another marker reported on NPC, which we have shown to contain quiescent cells. Thus, we show that endothelial cells may regulate neurogenesis by acting at different level of NPC differentiation, proliferation and quiescence.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Radiopathologie, CEA/DSV/DRR-IPSC, BP no 6, 92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses cedex, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mathieu
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fouchet
authors.forename: Laurent R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Gauthier
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lassalle
authors.forename: François D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Boussin
authors.forename: Marc-André
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mouthon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018920:Coculture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D016256:Lewis X Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D016256:Lewis X Antigen