Project description:The goal of the study is to profile molecular signature of different cell populations between Gabbr1 control and Gabbr1 cKO animals.
Project description:The goal of the study is to profile (1) molecular signature of astrocytes in different developmental stages across different brain regions, (2) differential gene expression between Gabbr1 control and Gabbr1 cKO animals.
Project description:Astrocytic morphogenesis and maturation are critical steps in CNS development. The time window of astrocyte morphological development is well defined, but the molecular underpinnings are still unclear. BDNF is a critical growth factor involved in the development of the CNS, including synapse refinement. Here we demonstrate the BDNF receptor at Ntrk2 is enriched in astrocytes relative to all CNS cell populations. RNA sequencing indicates Ntrk2 falls in the top 0.001% of all gene transcripts expressed in juvenile astrocytes, almost exclusively due to truncated TrkB.T1. Astrocyte complexity is increased in the presence of BNDF in vitro, which is dependent upon the presence of TrkB.T1. Furthermore, deletion of TrkB.T1 in vivo revealed astrocytes with significantly reduced volume and branching complexities. Indicating a role for functional astrocyte maturation via BDNF/TrkB.T1 signaling, TrkB.T1 KO astrocytes do not support normal excitatory synaptogenesis. Together, these data suggest a significant role for BDNF/TrkB.T1 signaling in astrocyte morphogenesis and indicate this signaling may contribute to astrocyte regulation of neuronal synapse development.
Project description:Embryogenesis depends on a tightly regulated balance between mitosis, differentiation, and morphogenesis. Understanding how the embryo uses a relatively small number of proteins to transition between growth and morphogenesis is a central question of developmental biology, but the mechanisms controlling mitosis and differentiation are considered to be fundamentally distinct. Here we show the mitotic kinase Polo, which regulates all steps of mitosis in Drosophila, also directs cellular morphogenesis after cell cycle exit.
Project description:Chromosomes and genes are non-randomly arranged within the mammalian cell nucleus. Clustering of genes is of great significance in transcriptional regulation. However, the relevance of gene clustering in their expression during differentiation of neural precursor cells (NPCs) into astrocytes remains unclear. We performed a genome-wide enhanced circular chromosomal conformation capture (e4C) to screen genes associated with an astrocyte-specific gene, glial fibrillary acidic protein (Gfap), during astrocyte differentiation. We identified 13 genes that were specifically associated with Gfap and expressed in NPC-derived astrocytes. These results provide evidence for functional significance of gene clustering in transcriptional regulation during NPCs differentiation. comparison of NPCs vs LIF+ vs LIF- cells.