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Isolation and Culture of Mouse Cortical Astrocytes
Published on: January 19, 2013
CD44-positive cells are candidates for astrocyte precursor cells in developing mouse cerebellum
Na Cai1, Masashi Kurachi, Koji Shibasaki
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511, Japan.
Cerebellum (London, England)
|July 7, 2011
Summary
Researchers identified CD44-positive cells in the early postnatal mouse cerebellum as astrocyte precursor cells (APCs). These cells differentiate into astrocytes by default, and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) promotes their survival.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Neural stem cells differentiate into neurons or glial cells.
- Neuronal and oligodendrocyte precursor cells are known, but astrocyte precursor cells (APCs) are less understood.
- The specific markers for APCs in the developing cerebellum are not well-defined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize astrocyte precursor cells (APCs) in the early postnatal mouse cerebellum.
- To investigate the differentiation potential and survival factors of CD44-positive cells.
- To determine if CD44 is a specific marker for APCs.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of CD44-positive cells from postnatal mouse cerebellum using fluorescence-activated cell sorting.
- In vitro characterization of purified CD44-positive cells.
- Analysis of cell differentiation and survival under various signaling molecule conditions (LIF, BMP4, FGF2).
Main Results:
- CD44-positive cells in the developing cerebellum express astrocyte lineage markers but not mature astrocyte markers.
- Purified CD44-positive cells differentiate into mature astrocytes by default in vitro.
- Leukemia inhibitory factor promoted astrocytic differentiation, while FGF2 supported proliferation but not survival.
- Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) significantly promoted survival by inhibiting caspase-3 activation, suggesting a novel role in astrocyte development.
Conclusions:
- CD44-positive cells in the early postnatal mouse cerebellum are identified as astrocyte precursor cell (APC) candidates.
- Astrocyte differentiation is the default program for these cells.
- Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) act as survival factors for these developing astrocytes.
