Transplantation reveals regional differences in oligodendrocyte differentiation in the adult brain

• Published in: Nature neuroscience Vol. 16; no. 10; pp. 1370 - 1372
• Main Authors: Viganò, Francesca, Möbius, Wiebke, Götz, Magdalena, Dimou, Leda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Nature Publishing Group US 01.10.2013; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/378/2582; 631/378/2596/1705; 631/378/2606; Age Factors; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Animals; Behavioral Sciences; Biological Techniques; Biomedicine; Brain; Brain - cytology; Brain - physiology; brief-communication; Cell differentiation; Cell Differentiation - physiology; Cell Transplantation - methods; Cerebral cortex; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Transgenic; Microscopy; Neurobiology; Neurogenesis - physiology; Neurosciences; Oligodendroglia - cytology; Oligodendroglia - physiology; Oligodendroglia - transplantation; Physiological aspects; Physiology; Transplants & implants; Germany
• ISSN: 1097-6256; 1546-1726; 1546-1726
• DOI: 10.1038/nn.3503

The authors find that white matter–derived OPCs differentiate with similar efficiencies whether they are engrafted into white matter or gray matter, while gray matter–derived OPCs only differentiate with high efficiency when placed in white matter. This suggests that there are intrinsic differences between OPCs depending on their site of origin. To examine the role of gray and white matter niches for oligodendrocyte differentiation, we used homo- and heterotopic transplantations into the adult mouse cerebral cortex. White matter–derived cells differentiated into mature oligodendrocytes in both niches with equal efficiency, whereas gray matter–derived cells did not. Thus, white matter promotes oligodendrocyte differentiation, and cells from this niche differentiate more easily, even in the less supportive gray matter environment.