Journal
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Volume 315, Issue 1, Pages 114-124Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2007.12.014
Keywords
aggrecan; astrocyte; nanomelia; gliogenesis; precursors; extracellular matrix
Categories
Funding
- NICHD NIH HHS [HD009402, P01 HD009402-30, P01 HD009402] Funding Source: Medline
- NINDS NIH HHS [R01 NS035680, NS35680] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Determination of the molecules that regulate astrocyte development has been hindered by the paucity of markers that identify astrocytic precursors in vivo. Here we report that the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan aggrecan both regulates astrocyte development and is expressed by embryonic glial precursors. During chick brain development, the onset of aggrecan expression precedes that of the astrocytic marker GFAP and is concomitant with detection of the early glial markers GLAST and glutamine synthetase. In co-expression studies, we established that aggrecan-rich cells contain the radial glial markers nestin, BLBP and GLAST and later in embryogenesis, the astroglial marker GFAR Parallel in vitro studies showed that ventricular zone cultures, enriched in aggrecan-expressing cells, could be directed to a GFAP-positive fate in G5-supplemented differentiation media. Analysis of the chick aggrecan mutant nanomelia revealed marked increases in the expression of the astrocyte differentiation genes GFAP, GLAST and GS in the absence of extracellular aggrecan. These increases in astrocytic marker gene expression could not be accounted for by changes in precursor proliferation or cell death, suggesting that aggrecan regulates the rate of astrocyte differentiation. Taken together, these results indicate a major role for aggrecan in the control of glial cell maturation during brain development. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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