Transcription factor Olig2 defines subpopulations of retinal progenitor cells biased toward specific cell fates.

ABSTRACT: Previous lineage analyses have shown that retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) are multipotent throughout development, and expression-profiling studies have shown a great deal of molecular heterogeneity among RPCs. To determine if the molecular heterogeneity predicts that an RPC will produce particular types of progeny, clonal lineage analysis was used to investigate the progeny of a subset of RPCs, those that express the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, Olig2. The embryonic Olig2(+) RPCs underwent terminal divisions, producing small clones with primarily two of the five cell types being made by the pool of RPCs at that time. The later, postnatal Olig2(+) RPCs also made terminal divisions, which were biased toward production of rod photoreceptors and amacrine cell interneurons. Thes

SUBMITTER: Hafler BP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3356608 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature