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Ventriglia S, Kalcheim C. From neural tube to spinal cord: The dynamic journey of the dorsal neuroepithelium. Dev Biol 2024; 511:26-38. [PMID: 38580174 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
In a developing embryo, formation of tissues and organs is remarkably precise in both time and space. Through cell-cell interactions, neighboring progenitors coordinate their activities, sequentially generating distinct types of cells. At present, we only have limited knowledge, rather than a systematic understanding, of the underlying logic and mechanisms responsible for cell fate transitions. The formation of the dorsal aspect of the spinal cord is an outstanding model to tackle these dynamics, as it first generates the peripheral nervous system and is later responsible for transmitting sensory information from the periphery to the brain and for coordinating local reflexes. This is reflected first by the ontogeny of neural crest cells, progenitors of the peripheral nervous system, followed by formation of the definitive roof plate of the central nervous system and specification of adjacent interneurons, then a transformation of roof plate into dorsal radial glia and ependyma lining the forming central canal. How do these peripheral and central neural branches segregate from common progenitors? How are dorsal radial glia established concomitant with transformation of the neural tube lumen into a central canal? How do the dorsal radial glia influence neighboring cells? This is only a partial list of questions whose clarification requires the implementation of experimental paradigms in which precise control of timing is crucial. Here, we outline some available answers and still open issues, while highlighting the contributions of avian models and their potential to address mechanisms of neural patterning and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Ventriglia
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC) and the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), Hebrew University of Jerusalem-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, 9112102, P.O.Box 12272, Israel.
| | - Chaya Kalcheim
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC) and the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), Hebrew University of Jerusalem-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, 9112102, P.O.Box 12272, Israel.
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Shinozuka T, Aoki M, Hatakeyama Y, Sasai N, Okamoto H, Takada S. Rspo1 and Rspo3 are required for sensory lineage neural crest formation in mouse embryos. Dev Dyn 2024; 253:435-446. [PMID: 37767857 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND R-spondins (Rspos) are secreted proteins that modulate Wnt/β-catenin signaling. At the early stages of spinal cord development, Wnts (Wnt1, Wnt3a) and Rspos (Rspo1, Rspo3) are co-expressed in the roof plate, suggesting that Rspos are involved in development of dorsal spinal cord and neural crest cells in cooperation with Wnt ligands. RESULTS Here, we found that Rspo1 and Rspo3, as well as Wnt1 and Wnt3a, maintained roof-plate-specific expression until late embryonic stages. Rspo1- and Rspo3-double-knock-out (dKO) embryos partially exhibited the phenotype of Wnt1 and Wnt3a dKO embryos. While the number of Ngn2-positive sensory lineage neural crest cells is reduced in Rspo-dKO embryos, development of dorsal spinal cord, including its size and dorso-ventral patterning in early development, elongation of the roof plate, and proliferation of ependymal cells, proceeded normally. Consistent with these slight defects, Wnt/β-catenin signaling was not obviously changed in developing spinal cord of dKO embryos. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that Rspo1 and Rspo3 are dispensable for most developmental processes involving roof plate-derived Wnt ligands, except for specification of a subtype of neural crest cells. Thus, Rspos may modulate Wnt/β-catenin signaling in a context-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuma Shinozuka
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
- National Institute for Basic Biology, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
- Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, Nara, Japan
| | - Motoko Aoki
- Laboratory for Developmental Gene Regulation, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama, Japan
| | - Yudai Hatakeyama
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
- National Institute for Basic Biology, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
| | - Noriaki Sasai
- Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, Nara, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Okamoto
- Laboratory for Developmental Gene Regulation, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama, Japan
| | - Shinji Takada
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
- National Institute for Basic Biology, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Okazaki, Aichi, Japan
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Roman A, Huntemer-Silveira A, Waldron MA, Khalid Z, Blake J, Parr AM, Low WC. Cell Transplantation for Repair of the Spinal Cord and Prospects for Generating Region-Specific Exogenic Neuronal Cells. Cell Transplant 2024; 33:9636897241241998. [PMID: 38590295 PMCID: PMC11005494 DOI: 10.1177/09636897241241998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with currently irreversible consequences in several functional components of the central nervous system. Despite the severity of injury, there remains no approved treatment to restore function. However, with a growing number of preclinical studies and clinical trials, cell transplantation has gained significant potential as a treatment for SCI. Researchers have identified several cell types as potential candidates for transplantation. To optimize successful functional outcomes after transplantation, one key factor concerns generating neuronal cells with regional and subtype specificity, thus calling on the developmental transcriptome patterning of spinal cord cells. A potential source of spinal cord cells for transplantation is the generation of exogenic neuronal progenitor cells via the emerging technologies of gene editing and blastocyst complementation. This review highlights the use of cell transplantation to treat SCI in the context of relevant developmental gene expression patterns useful for producing regionally specific exogenic spinal cells via in vitro differentiation and blastocyst complementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Roman
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Anne Huntemer-Silveira
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Madison A. Waldron
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Zainab Khalid
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Jeffrey Blake
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Ann M. Parr
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Walter C. Low
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Rapti G. Regulation of axon pathfinding by astroglia across genetic model organisms. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1241957. [PMID: 37941606 PMCID: PMC10628440 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1241957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Glia and neurons are intimately associated throughout bilaterian nervous systems, and were early proposed to interact for patterning circuit assembly. The investigations of circuit formation progressed from early hypotheses of intermediate guideposts and a "glia blueprint", to recent genetic and cell manipulations, and visualizations in vivo. An array of molecular factors are implicated in axon pathfinding but their number appears small relatively to circuit complexity. Comprehending this circuit complexity requires to identify unknown factors and dissect molecular topographies. Glia contribute to both aspects and certain studies provide molecular and functional insights into these contributions. Here, I survey glial roles in guiding axon navigation in vivo, emphasizing analogies, differences and open questions across major genetic models. I highlight studies pioneering the topic, and dissect recent findings that further advance our current molecular understanding. Circuits of the vertebrate forebrain, visual system and neural tube in zebrafish, mouse and chick, the Drosophila ventral cord and the C. elegans brain-like neuropil emerge as major contexts to study glial cell functions in axon navigation. I present astroglial cell types in these models, and their molecular and cellular interactions that drive axon guidance. I underline shared principles across models, conceptual or technical complications, and open questions that await investigation. Glia of the radial-astrocyte lineage, emerge as regulators of axon pathfinding, often employing common molecular factors across models. Yet this survey also highlights different involvements of glia in embryonic navigation or pioneer axon pathfinding, and unknowns in the molecular underpinnings of glial cell functions. Future cellular and molecular investigations should complete the comprehensive view of glial roles in circuit assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Rapti
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
- Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Rome, Italy
- Interdisciplinary Center of Neurosciences, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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Andersen J, Thom N, Shadrach JL, Chen X, Onesto MM, Amin ND, Yoon SJ, Li L, Greenleaf WJ, Müller F, Pașca AM, Kaltschmidt JA, Pașca SP. Single-cell transcriptomic landscape of the developing human spinal cord. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:902-914. [PMID: 37095394 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01311-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Understanding spinal cord assembly is essential to elucidate how motor behavior is controlled and how disorders arise. The human spinal cord is exquisitely organized, and this complex organization contributes to the diversity and intricacy of motor behavior and sensory processing. But how this complexity arises at the cellular level in the human spinal cord remains unknown. Here we transcriptomically profiled the midgestation human spinal cord with single-cell resolution and discovered remarkable heterogeneity across and within cell types. Glia displayed diversity related to positional identity along the dorso-ventral and rostro-caudal axes, while astrocytes with specialized transcriptional programs mapped into white and gray matter subtypes. Motor neurons clustered at this stage into groups suggestive of alpha and gamma neurons. We also integrated our data with multiple existing datasets of the developing human spinal cord spanning 22 weeks of gestation to investigate the cell diversity over time. Together with mapping of disease-related genes, this transcriptomic mapping of the developing human spinal cord opens new avenues for interrogating the cellular basis of motor control in humans and guides human stem cell-based models of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimena Andersen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Nicholas Thom
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Xiaoyu Chen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Massimo Mario Onesto
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, CA, USA
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Neal D Amin
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Se-Jin Yoon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Li Li
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - William J Greenleaf
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Fabian Müller
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Center for Bioinformatics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Anca M Pașca
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Sergiu P Pașca
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Stanford Brain Organogenesis, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, CA, USA.
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Scientific Papers by Developmental Biologists in Japan. J Dev Biol 2023; 11:jdb11010011. [PMID: 36976100 PMCID: PMC10057944 DOI: 10.3390/jdb11010011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
We have assembled ten interesting manuscripts submitted by developmental biologists in Japan [...]
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Majka M, Ho RDJG, Zagorski M. Stability of Pattern Formation in Systems with Dynamic Source Regions. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:098402. [PMID: 36930916 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.098402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
We explain the principles of gene expression pattern stabilization in systems of interacting, diffusible morphogens, with dynamically established source regions. Using a reaction-diffusion model with a step-function production term, we identify the phase transition between low-precision indeterminate patterning and the phase in which a traveling, well-defined contact zone between two domains is formed. Our model analytically explains single- and two-gene domain dynamics and provides pattern stability conditions for all possible two-gene regulatory network motifs.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Majka
- Institute of Theoretical Physics and Mark Kac Center for Complex Systems Research, Jagiellonian University, Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Kraków, Poland
| | - R D J G Ho
- Institute of Theoretical Physics and Mark Kac Center for Complex Systems Research, Jagiellonian University, Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Kraków, Poland
| | - M Zagorski
- Institute of Theoretical Physics and Mark Kac Center for Complex Systems Research, Jagiellonian University, Łojasiewicza 11, 30-348 Kraków, Poland
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Rodrigo Albors A, Singer GA, Llorens-Bobadilla E, Frisén J, May AP, Ponting CP, Storey KG. An ependymal cell census identifies heterogeneous and ongoing cell maturation in the adult mouse spinal cord that changes dynamically on injury. Dev Cell 2023; 58:239-255.e10. [PMID: 36706756 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The adult spinal cord stem cell potential resides within the ependymal cell population and declines with age. Ependymal cells are, however, heterogeneous, and the biological diversity this represents and how it changes with age remain unknown. Here, we present a single-cell transcriptomic census of spinal cord ependymal cells from adult and aged mice, identifying not only all known ependymal cell subtypes but also immature as well as mature cell states. By comparing transcriptomes of spinal cord and brain ependymal cells, which lack stem cell abilities, we identify immature cells as potential spinal cord stem cells. Following spinal cord injury, these cells re-enter the cell cycle, which is accompanied by a short-lived reversal of ependymal cell maturation. We further analyze ependymal cells in the human spinal cord and identify widespread cell maturation and altered cell identities. This in-depth characterization of spinal cord ependymal cells provides insight into their biology and informs strategies for spinal cord repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida Rodrigo Albors
- Division of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK.
| | - Gail A Singer
- Division of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | | | - Jonas Frisén
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andrew P May
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Tornado Bio, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Chris P Ponting
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Kate G Storey
- Division of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK.
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