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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Generation of Human Neurons and Oligodendrocytes from Pluripotent Stem Cells for Modeling Neuron-Oligodendrocyte Interactions
Published on: November 9, 2020
Olig2-regulated lineage-restricted pathway controls replication competence in neural stem cells and malignant glioma
Keith L Ligon1, Emmanuelle Huillard, Shwetal Mehta
1Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, 44 Binney Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
Recent studies have identified stem cells in brain cancer. However, their relationship to normal CNS progenitors, including dependence on common lineage-restricted pathways, is unclear. We observe expression of the CNS-restricted transcription factor, OLIG2, in human glioma stem and progenitor cells reminiscent of type C transit-amplifying cells in germinal zones of the adult brain. Olig2 function is required for proliferation of neural progenitors and for glioma formation in a genetically relevant murine model. Moreover, we show p21(WAF1/CIP1), a tumor suppressor and inhibitor of stem cell proliferation, is directly repressed by OLIG2 in neural progenitors and gliomas. Our findings identify an Olig2-regulated lineage-restricted pathway critical for proliferation of normal and tumorigenic CNS stem cells.
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