Cell Reports
Volume 32, Issue 6, 11 August 2020, 108022
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Single-Cell Profiling Shows Murine Forebrain Neural Stem Cells Reacquire a Developmental State when Activated for Adult Neurogenesis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108022Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Cortex and GE-derived V-SVZ NSCs share a common forebrain NSC signature

  • Embryonic NSCs transition to dormant adult NSCs in the first postnatal week

  • Adult dormant NSCs acquire a development-like state when reactivated

  • Cortex-derived adult NSCs acquire a GE-like state when activated to make neurons

Summary

The transitions from developing to adult quiescent and activated neural stem cells (NSCs) are not well understood. Here, we use single-cell transcriptional profiling and lineage tracing to characterize these transitions in the murine forebrain. We show that the two forebrain NSC parental populations, embryonic cortex and ganglionic eminence radial precursors (RPs), are highly similar even though they make glutamatergic versus gabaergic neurons. Both RP populations progress linearly to transition from a highly active embryonic to a dormant adult stem cell state that still shares many similarities with embryonic RPs. When adult NSCs of either embryonic origin become reactivated to make gabaergic neurons, they acquire a developing ganglionic eminence RP-like identity. Thus, transitions from embryonic RPs to adult NSCs and back to neuronal progenitors do not involve fundamental changes in cell identity, but rather reflect conversions between activated and dormant NSC states that may be determined by the niche environment.

Keywords

neural stem cell
single-cell profiling
quiescence
cortex
cortical precursor
ganglionic eminence
neurogenesis
stem cell activation

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