Bergmann glia cells are a discrete radial glia population surrounding Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex. Although Bergmann glia are essential for the development and correct arborization of Purkinje cells, littl...Bergmann glia cells are a discrete radial glia population surrounding Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex. Although Bergmann glia are essential for the development and correct arborization of Purkinje cells, little is known about the regulation of this cell population after the developmental phase. In an effort to characterize this population at the molecular level, we have analyzed marker expression and established that adult Bergmann glia express Soxl, Sox2 and Sox9, a feature otherwise associated with neural stem cells （NSCs）. In the present study, we have further analyzed the developmental pattern of Soxl-expressing cells in the developing cerebellum. We report that before becoming restricted to the Purkinje cell layer, Soxl-positive cells are present throughout the immature tissue, and that these cells show characteristics of Bergmann glia progenitors. Our study shows that these progenitors express Soxl, Sox2 and Sox9, a signature maintained throughout cerebellar maturation into adulthood. When isolated in culture, the Soxl-expressing cerebellar population exhibited neurosphere-forming ability, NSC-marker characteristics, and demonstrated multipotency at the clonal level. Our results show that the Bergmann glia population expresses Soxl during cerebellar development, and that these cells can be isolated and show stem cell characteristics in vitro, suggesting that they could hold a broader potential than previously thought.展开更多
The interaction between Hertwig＇s epithelial root sheath （HERS） and the adjacent mesenchyme is vitally important in mouse tooth root development. We previously generated odontoblast-specific Ctnnbl （encodingβ-cat...The interaction between Hertwig＇s epithelial root sheath （HERS） and the adjacent mesenchyme is vitally important in mouse tooth root development. We previously generated odontoblast-specific Ctnnbl （encodingβ-catenin） deletion mice, and demon- strated that odontoblast β-catenin signaling regulates odontoblast proliferation and differentiation. However, the role of odon- toblast β-catenin signaling in regulation of HERS behavior has not been fully investigated. Here, using the same odonto- blast-specific Ctnnbl deletion mice, we found that ablation of β-catenin signaling in odontoblasts led to aberrant HERS for- mation. Mechanistically, odontoblast-specific Ctnnbl deletion resulted in elevated bone morphogenetic protein 7 （Bmp7） ex- pression and reduced expression of noggin andfollistatin, both of which encode extracellular inhibitors of BMPs. Furthermore, the levels of phosphorylated Smadl/5/8 were increased in HERS cells. In vitro tissue culture confirmed that BMP7 treatment disrupted the HERS structure. Taken together, we demonstrated that odontoblast f3-catenin signaling may act through regula- tion of BMP signaling to maintain the integrity of HERS cells.展开更多
文摘Bergmann glia cells are a discrete radial glia population surrounding Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex. Although Bergmann glia are essential for the development and correct arborization of Purkinje cells, little is known about the regulation of this cell population after the developmental phase. In an effort to characterize this population at the molecular level, we have analyzed marker expression and established that adult Bergmann glia express Soxl, Sox2 and Sox9, a feature otherwise associated with neural stem cells （NSCs）. In the present study, we have further analyzed the developmental pattern of Soxl-expressing cells in the developing cerebellum. We report that before becoming restricted to the Purkinje cell layer, Soxl-positive cells are present throughout the immature tissue, and that these cells show characteristics of Bergmann glia progenitors. Our study shows that these progenitors express Soxl, Sox2 and Sox9, a signature maintained throughout cerebellar maturation into adulthood. When isolated in culture, the Soxl-expressing cerebellar population exhibited neurosphere-forming ability, NSC-marker characteristics, and demonstrated multipotency at the clonal level. Our results show that the Bergmann glia population expresses Soxl during cerebellar development, and that these cells can be isolated and show stem cell characteristics in vitro, suggesting that they could hold a broader potential than previously thought.
基金supported by grants from the State Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81030018)the National Basic Research Program of China(2012CB966904)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(30900863,81241062)
文摘The interaction between Hertwig＇s epithelial root sheath （HERS） and the adjacent mesenchyme is vitally important in mouse tooth root development. We previously generated odontoblast-specific Ctnnbl （encodingβ-catenin） deletion mice, and demon- strated that odontoblast β-catenin signaling regulates odontoblast proliferation and differentiation. However, the role of odon- toblast β-catenin signaling in regulation of HERS behavior has not been fully investigated. Here, using the same odonto- blast-specific Ctnnbl deletion mice, we found that ablation of β-catenin signaling in odontoblasts led to aberrant HERS for- mation. Mechanistically, odontoblast-specific Ctnnbl deletion resulted in elevated bone morphogenetic protein 7 （Bmp7） ex- pression and reduced expression of noggin andfollistatin, both of which encode extracellular inhibitors of BMPs. Furthermore, the levels of phosphorylated Smadl/5/8 were increased in HERS cells. In vitro tissue culture confirmed that BMP7 treatment disrupted the HERS structure. Taken together, we demonstrated that odontoblast f3-catenin signaling may act through regula- tion of BMP signaling to maintain the integrity of HERS cells.
