Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 27, Issue 15, Pages 4132-4145Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0111-07.2007
Keywords
cerebral cortex development; primates; human fetal cell cultures; LeX immunocytochemistry; transfection; patch-clamp recording
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Understanding the molecular and physiological determinants of cortical neuronal progenitor cells is essential for understanding the development of the human brain in health and in disease. We used surface marker fucose N-acetyl lactosamine (LeX) (also known as CD15) to isolate progenitor cells from the cortical ventricular/subventricular zone of human fetal brain at the second trimester of gestation and to study their progeny in vitro. LeX(+) cells had typical bipolar morphology, radial orientation, and antigen profiles, characterizing them as a subtype of radial glia (RG) cells. Four complementary experimental techniques (clonal analysis, immunofluorescence, transfection experiments, and patch-clamp recordings) indicated that this subtype of RG generates mainly astrocytes but also a small number of cortical neurons. The neurogenic capabilities of RGs were both region and stage dependent. Present results provide the first direct evidence that RGs in the human cerebral cortex serve as neuronal progenitors. Simultaneously, another progenitor subtype was identified as proliferating cells labeled with neuronal (beta-III-tubulin and doublecortin) but not RG markers [GFAP, vimentin, and BLBP (brain lipid-binding protein)]. Proliferative and antigenic characteristics of these cells suggested their neuron-restricted progenitor status. In summary, our in vitro study suggests that diverse populations of cortical progenitor cells, including multipotent RGs and neuron-restricted progenitors, contribute differentially to cortical neurogenesis at the second trimester of gestation in human cerebral cortex.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available