Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells derived from mouse embryonic stem cells give rise to type-1 and type-2 astrocytes in vitro.
Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in primary culture can give rise to mature oligodendrocytes and type-2, but not type-1 astrocytes depending on the culture conditions. The OPCs thus are called oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte (O2-A) progenitor cells. Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) have been efficiently differentiated into OPCs; however, the fate plasticity of mESC-derived OPCs is not well characterized. In the present study, using GFP-Olig2 mESC line, we showed that the Olig2(+)/GFP(+)/A2B5(+)/NG2(+) OPCs derived from GFP-Olig2 mESCs can mature into oligodendrocytes when co-cultured with mESC-derived neurons. Interestingly, when induced to astrocytic differentiation by bone morphogenetic protein-4, these mESC-derived OPCs can not only generate type-2 astrocytes, but also type-1 astrocytes. These results challenge the dogma that OPCs in culture can only generate type-2, but not type-1 astrocytes, and support the in vivo finding that during perinatal development, OPCs can give rise to a subset of type-1 astrocytes.
Department of Neurology, Institute of Neurology, Tianjin General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
Chen
C
Chen
Daniel
D
Daugherty
Peng
P
Jiang
Wenbin
W
Deng
D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology*
D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins