title: In-vivo RGB marking and multicolour single-cell tracking in the adult brain.
abstract: In neuroscience it is a technical challenge to identify and follow the temporal and spatial distribution of cells as they differentiate. We hypothesised that RGB marking, the tagging of individual cells with unique hues resulting from simultaneous expression of the three basic colours red, green and blue, provides a convenient toolbox for the study of the CNS anatomy at the single-cell level. Using γ-retroviral and lentiviral vector sets we describe for the first time the in-vivo multicolour RGB marking of neurons in the adult brain. RGB marking also enabled us to track the spatial and temporal fate of neural stem cells in the adult brain. The application of different viral envelopes and promoters provided a useful approach to track the generation of neurons vs. glial cells at the neurogenic niche, allowing the identification of the prominent generation of new astrocytes to the striatum. Multicolour RGB marking could serve as a universal and reproducible method to study and manipulate the CNS at the single-cell level, in both health and disease.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gomez-Nicola
authors.affiliation: Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Clinic for Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Kristoffer
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Riecken
authors.affiliation: Research Department Cell and Gene Therapy, Clinic for Stem Cell Transplantation, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fehse
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: V Hugh
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Perry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D017988:Gammaretrovirus; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D016086:Lentivirus; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism