title: De novo neurogenesis by targeted expression of atoh7 to Müller glia cells.
abstract: Regenerative responses in the vertebrate CNS depend on quiescent radial glia stem cells, which re-enter the cell cycle and eventually differentiate into neurons. The entry into the cell cycle and the differentiation into neurons are events of opposite nature, and therefore efforts to force quiescent radial glia into neurons require different factors. Here, we use fish to show that a single neurogenic factor, Atoh7, directs retinal radial glia (Müller glia, MG) into proliferation. The resulting neurogenic clusters differentiate in vivo into various retinal neurons. We use signaling reporters to demonstrate that the Atoh7-induced regeneration-like response of MG cells is mimicked by Notch, resembling the behavior of early progenitors during retinogenesis. Activation of Notch signaling in MG cells is sufficient to trigger proliferation and differentiation. Our results uncover a new role for Atoh7 as a universal neurogenic factor, and illustrate how signaling modules are re-employed in diverse contexts to trigger different biological responses.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, Heidelberg 69120, Germany The Hartmut Hoffmann-Berling International Graduate School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (HBIGS), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lust
authors.affiliation: Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, Heidelberg 69120, Germany The Hartmut Hoffmann-Berling International Graduate School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (HBIGS), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sinn
authors.affiliation: Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, Heidelberg 69120, Germany The Hartmut Hoffmann-Berling International Graduate School of Molecular and Cellular Biology (HBIGS), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez Saturnino
authors.affiliation: Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, Heidelberg 69120, Germany lazaro.centanin@cos.uni-heidelberg.de jochen.wittbrodt@cos.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Lázaro
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Centanin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 230, Heidelberg 69120, Germany lazaro.centanin@cos.uni-heidelberg.de jochen.wittbrodt@cos.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8550-7377
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wittbrodt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002923:Cilia / Q000378:metabolism; D002999:Clone Cells; D063928:Ependymoglial Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018390:Gene Targeting; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D055495:Neurogenesis; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism*; D009990:Oryzias / Q000378:metabolism*; D000072417:Protein Domains; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D051880:Receptors, Notch
keywords: Atoh7; LexPR system; Lineage tracing; Medaka; Müller glia; Retina