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GFAPdelta in radial glia and subventricular zone progenitors in the developing human cortex
Jinte Middeldorp1, Karin Boer, Jacqueline A Sluijs
1Department of Astrocyte Biology & Neurodegeneration, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Development (Cambridge, England)
|December 31, 2009
Summary
Glial fibrillary acidic protein delta (GFAPdelta) is newly identified in developing human brain neural stem cells. This GFAPdelta marker distinguishes proliferating cells in the subventricular zone, offering insights into brain development and disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Adult mammalian brain neural stem cells reside in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and express glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).
- A GFAP splice variant, GFAPdelta, is specifically expressed in adult SVZ stem cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate GFAPdelta expression in developing human brain neural progenitors.
- To determine if GFAPdelta plays a role in brain development.
- To analyze GFAPdelta expression in lissencephaly type II.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of GFAPdelta expression in developing human cortex and in foetuses with lissencephaly type II.
- Immunohistochemistry and co-localization studies with Ki67.
Main Results:
- GFAPdelta is specifically expressed in radial glia and SVZ neural progenitors during human brain development, starting around 13 weeks of gestation.
- GFAPdelta expression in radial glia disappears before birth, while it persists in SVZ progenitors postnatally.
- GFAPdelta-expressing cells co-localize with the proliferation marker Ki67.
- GFAPdelta expression patterns are disrupted in lissencephaly type II.
Conclusions:
- The adult SVZ is a remnant of the foetal SVZ, originating from radial glia.
- GFAPdelta can differentiate between resting astrocytes and proliferating SVZ progenitors.
- GFAPdelta is a significant marker in understanding human brain development and neural stem cell proliferation.
