Purkinje cells originate from cerebellar ventricular zone progenitors positive for Neph3 and E-cadherin.
GABAergic Purkinje cells (PCs) provide the primary output from the cerebellar cortex, which controls movement and posture. Although the mechanisms of PC differentiation have been well studied, the precise origin and initial specification mechanism of PCs remain to be clarified. Here, we identified a cerebellar and spinal cord GABAergic progenitor-selective cell surface marker, Neph3, which is a direct downstream target gene of Ptf1a, an essential regulator of GABAergic neuron development. Using FACS, Neph3(+) GABAergic progenitors were sorted from the embryonic cerebellum, and the cell fate of this population was mapped by culturing in vitro. We found that most of the Neph3(+) populations sorted from the mouse E12.5 cerebellum were fated to differentiate into PCs while the remaining small fraction of Neph3(+) cells were progenitors for Pax2(+) interneurons, which are likely to be deep cerebellar nuclei GABAergic neurons. These results were confirmed by short-term in vivo lineage-tracing experiments using transgenic mice expressing Neph3 promoter-driven GFP. In addition, we identified E-cadherin as a marker selectively expressed by a dorsally localized subset of cerebellar Neph3(+) cells. Sorting experiments revealed that the Neph3(+) E-cadherin(high) population in the embryonic cerebellum defined PC progenitors while progenitors for Pax2(+) interneurons were enriched in the Neph3(+) E-cadherin(low) population. Taken together, our results identify two spatially demarcated subregions that generate distinct cerebellar GABAergic subtypes and reveal the origin of PCs in the ventricular zone of the cerebellar primordium.
Mizuhara
Eri
E
Group for Neuronal Differentiation, KAN Research Institute Inc., Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan.
Minaki
Yasuko
Y
Nakatani
Tomoya
T
Kumai
Minoru
M
Inoue
Takeshi
T
Muguruma
Keiko
K
Sasai
Yoshiki
Y
Ono
Yuichi
Y
D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D007395:Interneurons / Q000166:cytology; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D051762:PAX2 Transcription Factor; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
D015820:Cadherins; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C546601:Neph3 protein, mouse; D051762:PAX2 Transcription Factor; C497319:Pax2 protein, mouse; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid