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Published on: April 1, 2009
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Image analysis of neural stem cell division patterns in the zebrafish brain
Valerio Lupperger1, Felix Buggenthin1, Prisca Chapouton2
1Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
Summary
Neural stem cells (NSCs) in adult zebrafish brains divide with weak spatial coordination. This suggests neither strong inhibitory nor attractive signals regulate NSC divisions in the brain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Stem Cell Biology
Background:
- Adult stem cells drive tissue regeneration.
- Neural stem cells (NSCs) in the brain maintain populations and generate new neurons and glial cells.
- The spatial coordination of NSC division and differentiation in a functional brain remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a bioimage informatics pipeline for quantifying spatial coordination of NSC division.
- To analyze patterns of NSC division in the adult zebrafish brain.
- To determine if inhibitory or attractive signals influence NSC division.
Main Methods:
- Automated identification of GFP-expressing NSCs in 3D zebrafish brain image stacks.
- Quantification of dividing NSCs using EdU incorporation.
- Calculation of pairwise NSC distances and fitting a probabilistic model to spatial patterns.
Main Results:
- Identified 1,500–2,500 NSCs in six zebrafish brain hemispheres.
- Found weak positive spatial coordination between dividing NSCs.
- Observed a non-homogeneous distribution of NSCs.
Conclusions:
- NSC divisions in the adult zebrafish brain exhibit weak positive coordination.
- Neither strong inhibitory nor strong attractive signals appear to drive NSC divisions.
- The findings provide insights into the regulation of neurogenesis in the adult brain.
