FoxJ1 regulates spinal cord development and is required for the maintenance of spinal cord stem cell potential.

Development of the spinal cord requires dynamic and tightly controlled expression of numerous transcription factors. Forkhead Box protein J1 (FoxJ1) is a transcription factor involved in ciliogenesis and is specifically expressed in ependymal cells (ECs) in the adult central nervous system. However, using FoxJ1 fate-mapping mouse lines, we observed that FoxJ1 is also transiently expressed by the progenitors of other neural subtypes during development. Moreover, using a knock-in mouse line, we discovered that FoxJ1 is essential for embryonic progenitors to follow a normal developmental trajectory. FoxJ1 loss perturbed embryonic progenitor proliferation and cell fate determination, and resulted in formation of adult ECs having impaired stem cell potential and an inability to respond to spinal cord injury in both male and female animals. Thus, our study uncovers unexpected developmental functions of FoxJ1 in cell fate determination of subsets of neural cells and suggests that FoxJ1 is critical for maintaining the stem cell potential of ECs into adulthood.

Endogenous neural stem cell responses to stroke and spinal cord injury.

Stroke and spinal cord injury (SCI) are among the most frequent causes of central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction, affecting millions of people worldwide each year. The personal and financial costs for affected individuals, their families, and the broader communities are enormous. Although the mammalian CNS exhibits little spontaneous regeneration and self-repair, recent discoveries have revealed that subpopulations of glial cells in the adult forebrain subventricular zone and the spinal cord ependymal zone possess neural stem cell properties. These endogenous neural stem cells react to stroke and SCI by contributing a significant number of new neural cells to formation of the glial scar. These findings have raised hopes that new therapeutic strategies can be designed based on appropriate modulation of endogenous neural stem cell responses to CNS injury. Here, we review the responses of forebrain and spinal cord neural stem cells to stroke and SCI, the role of these responses in restricting injury-induced tissue loss, and the possibility of directing these responses to promote anatomical and functional repair of the CNS.

Nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFATc4) is required for BDNF-dependent survival of adult-born neurons and spatial memory formation in the hippocampus.

New neurons generated in the adult dentate gyrus are constantly integrated into the hippocampal circuitry and activated during encoding and recall of new memories. Despite identification of extracellular signals that regulate survival and integration of adult-born neurons such as neurotrophins and neurotransmitters, the nature of the intracellular modulators required to transduce those signals remains elusive. Here, we provide evidence of the expression and transcriptional activity of nuclear factor of activated T cell c4 (NFATc4) in hippocampal progenitor cells. We show that NFATc4 calcineurin-dependent activity is required selectively for survival of adult-born neurons in response to BDNF signaling. Indeed, cyclosporin A injection and stereotaxic delivery of the BDNF scavenger TrkB-Fc in the mouse dentate gyrus reduce the survival of hippocampal adult-born neurons in wild-type but not in NFATc4(-/-) mice and do not affect the net rate of neural precursor proliferation and their fate commitment. Furthermore, associated with the reduced survival of adult-born neurons, the absence of NFATc4 leads to selective defects in LTP and in the encoding of hippocampal-dependent spatial memories. Thus, our data demonstrate that NFATc4 is essential in the regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and identify NFATc4 as a central player of BDNF-driven prosurvival signaling in hippocampal adult-born neurons.

Developmental origin of oligodendrocytes determines their function in the adult brain.

In the mouse embryonic forebrain, developmentally distinct oligodendrocyte progenitor cell populations and their progeny, oligodendrocytes, emerge from three distinct regions in a spatiotemporal gradient from ventral to dorsal. However, the functional importance of this oligodendrocyte developmental heterogeneity is unknown. Using a genetic strategy to ablate dorsally derived oligodendrocyte lineage cells (OLCs), we show here that the areas in which dorsally derived OLCs normally reside in the adult central nervous system become populated and myelinated by OLCs of ventral origin. These ectopic oligodendrocytes (eOLs) have a distinctive gene expression profile as well as subtle myelination abnormalities. The failure of eOLs to fully assume the role of the original dorsally derived cells results in locomotor and cognitive deficits in the adult animal. This study reveals the importance of developmental heterogeneity within the oligodendrocyte lineage and its importance for homeostatic brain function.

p53 Regulates the neuronal intrinsic and extrinsic responses affecting the recovery of motor function following spinal cord injury.

Following spinal trauma, the limited physiological axonal sprouting that contributes to partial recovery of function is dependent upon the intrinsic properties of neurons as well as the inhibitory glial environment. The transcription factor p53 is involved in DNA repair, cell cycle, cell survival, and axonal outgrowth, suggesting p53 as key modifier of axonal and glial responses influencing functional recovery following spinal injury. Indeed, in a spinal cord dorsal hemisection injury model, we observed a significant impairment in locomotor recovery in p53(-/-) versus wild-type mice. p53(-/-) spinal cords showed an increased number of activated microglia/macrophages and a larger scar at the lesion site. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments suggested p53 as a direct regulator of microglia/macrophages proliferation. At the axonal level, p53(-/-) mice showed a more pronounced dieback of the corticospinal tract (CST) and a decreased sprouting capacity of both CST and spinal serotoninergic fibers. In vivo expression of p53 in the sensorimotor cortex rescued and enhanced the sprouting potential of the CST in p53(-/-) mice, while, similarly, p53 expression in p53(-/-) cultured cortical neurons rescued a defect in neurite outgrowth, suggesting a direct role for p53 in regulating the intrinsic sprouting ability of CNS neurons. In conclusion, we show that p53 plays an important regulatory role at both extrinsic and intrinsic levels affecting the recovery of motor function following spinal cord injury. Therefore, we propose p53 as a novel potential multilevel therapeutic target for spinal cord injury.

Distinct oligodendrocyte populations have spatial preference and different responses to spinal cord injury.

Mature oligodendrocytes (MOLs) show transcriptional heterogeneity, the functional consequences of which are unclear. MOL heterogeneity might correlate with the local environment or their interactions with different neuron types. Here, we show that distinct MOL populations have spatial preference in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). We found that MOL type 2 (MOL2) is enriched in the spinal cord when compared to the brain, while MOL types 5 and 6 (MOL5/6) increase their contribution to the OL lineage with age in all analyzed regions. MOL2 and MOL5/6 also have distinct spatial preference in the spinal cord regions where motor and sensory tracts run. OL progenitor cells (OPCs) are not specified into distinct MOL populations during development, excluding a major contribution of OPC intrinsic mechanisms determining MOL heterogeneity. In disease, MOL2 and MOL5/6 present different susceptibility during the chronic phase following traumatic spinal cord injury. Our results demonstrate that the distinct MOL populations have different spatial preference and different responses to disease.

Ancestry Tracing: Uncovering a Gliomagenesis Master Regulator.

In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Weng et al. (2019) characterize a progenitor population that precedes oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs). The authors identified Zfp36l1 as a key regulator of the cell fate switch between oligodendrocytes and astrocytes in neural progenitors, and thereby an important regulator of cellular processes such as myelination and gliomagenesis.

Disease-specific oligodendrocyte lineage cells arise in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by an immune system attack targeting myelin, which is produced by oligodendrocytes (OLs). We performed single-cell transcriptomic analysis of OL lineage cells from the spinal cord of mice induced with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which mimics several aspects of MS. We found unique OLs and OL precursor cells (OPCs) in EAE and uncovered several genes specifically alternatively spliced in these cells. Surprisingly, EAE-specific OL lineage populations expressed genes involved in antigen processing and presentation via major histocompatibility complex class I and II (MHC-I and -II), and in immunoprotection, suggesting alternative functions of these cells in a disease context. Importantly, we found that disease-specific oligodendroglia are also present in human MS brains and that a substantial number of genes known to be susceptibility genes for MS, so far mainly associated with immune cells, are expressed in the OL lineage cells. Finally, we demonstrate that OPCs can phagocytose and that MHC-II-expressing OPCs can activate memory and effector CD4-positive T cells. Our results suggest that OLs and OPCs are not passive targets but instead active immunomodulators in MS. The disease-specific OL lineage cells, for which we identify several biomarkers, may represent novel direct targets for immunomodulatory therapeutic approaches in MS.

Regenerative Potential of Ependymal Cells for Spinal Cord Injuries Over Time.

Stem cells have a high therapeutic potential for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). We have shown previously that endogenous stem cell potential is confined to ependymal cells in the adult spinal cord which could be targeted for non-invasive SCI therapy. However, ependymal cells are an understudied cell population. Taking advantage of transgenic lines, we characterize the appearance and potential of ependymal cells during development. We show that spinal cord stem cell potential in vitro is contained within these cells by birth. Moreover, juvenile cultures generate more neurospheres and more oligodendrocytes than adult ones. Interestingly, juvenile ependymal cells in vivo contribute to glial scar formation after severe but not mild SCI, due to a more effective sealing of the lesion by other glial cells. This study highlights the importance of the age-dependent potential of stem cells and post-SCI environment in order to utilize ependymal cell's regenerative potential.

Oligodendrocyte heterogeneity in the mouse juvenile and adult central nervous system.

Oligodendrocytes have been considered as a functionally homogeneous population in the central nervous system (CNS). We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on 5072 cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage from 10 regions of the mouse juvenile and adult CNS. Thirteen distinct populations were identified, 12 of which represent a continuum from Pdgfra(+) oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to distinct mature oligodendrocytes. Initial stages of differentiation were similar across the juvenile CNS, whereas subsets of mature oligodendrocytes were enriched in specific regions in the adult brain. Newly formed oligodendrocytes were detected in the adult CNS and were responsive to complex motor learning. A second Pdgfra(+) population, distinct from OPCs, was found along vessels. Our study reveals the dynamics of oligodendrocyte differentiation and maturation, uncoupling them at a transcriptional level and highlighting oligodendrocyte heterogeneity in the CNS.

Heterozygous Igf1r deletion does not ameliorate pathological features associated with polyglutamine-containing huntingtin fragment.

The evolutionarily conserved insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway has pleiotropic effects on various cellular processes. Hypomorphic alleles of the insulin/IGF-1 receptor enhance catabolic processes as well as stress resistance, which ultimately lead to lifespan extension in invertebrates. Moreover, decreased insulin/IGF-1 signaling promotes the maintenance of protein quality control and suppresses the onset of cellular toxicity caused by aggregate-prone proteins. As loss of protein homeostasis is a feature of many sporadic and inherited forms of neurodegenerative disorders, the pharmacological inhibition of the IGF-1 receptor represents a promising potential therapeutic strategy for currently untreatable neurodegenerative disorders. However, additional studies are required to determine whether this approach is suitable to delay pathology in clinically relevant models of neurodegenerative disorders. Here we show that, in a mouse model of Huntington's disease, heterozygous knockout of the Igf1r does not prevent premature lethality of mice expressing a short fragment of the mutant human huntingtin. Moreover, Igf1r haploinsufficiency does not suppress the formation of huntingtin-containing aggregates. Thus, partial genetic manipulation of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway does not seem sufficient to counteract protein toxicity and extend animal survival.

Neural regeneration: lessons from regenerating and non-regenerating systems.

One only needs to see a salamander regrowing a lost limb to become fascinated by regeneration. However, the lack of robust axonal regeneration models for which good cellular and molecular tools exist has hampered progress in the field. Nevertheless, the nervous system has been revealed to be an excellent model to investigate regeneration. There are conspicuous differences in neuroregeneration capacity between amphibia and warm-blooded animals, as well as between the central and the peripheral nervous systems in mammals. Exploration of such discrepancies led to significant discoveries on the basic tenets of neuroregeneration in the last two decades, identifying several positive and negative regulators of axonal regeneration. Implications of these findings to the comprehension of mammalian regeneration and to the development of spinal cord injury therapies are also addressed.