title: NG2+ CNS glial progenitors remain committed to the oligodendrocyte lineage in postnatal life and following neurodegeneration.
abstract: The mammalian CNS contains a ubiquitous population of glial progenitors known as NG2+ cells that have the ability to develop into oligodendrocytes and undergo dramatic changes in response to injury and demyelination. Although it has been reported that NG2+ cells are multipotent, their fate in health and disease remains controversial. Here, we generated PDGFαR-CreER transgenic mice and followed their fate in vivo in the developing and adult CNS. These studies revealed that NG2+ cells in the postnatal CNS generate myelinating oligodendrocytes, but not astrocytes or neurons. In regions of neurodegeneration in the spinal cord of ALS mice, NG2+ cells exhibited enhanced proliferation and accelerated differentiation into oligodendrocytes but remained committed to the oligodendrocyte lineage. These results indicate that NG2+ cells in the normal CNS are oligodendrocyte precursors with restricted lineage potential and that cell loss and gliosis are not sufficient to alter the lineage potential of these progenitors.
authors.affiliation: The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Shin H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukaya
authors.forename: Jason K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Rothstein
authors.forename: Dwight E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Bergles
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000235:genetics; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011897:Random Allocation; D020796:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D020796:Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor alpha