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Developmental genetics of vertebrate glial–cell specification

Nature volume 468, pages 214–222 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Oligodendrocytes and astrocytes are macroglial cells of the vertebrate central nervous system. These cells have diverse roles in the maintenance of neurological function. In the embryo, the genetic mechanisms that underlie the specification of macroglial precursors in vivo appear strikingly similar to those that regulate the development of the diverse neuron types. The switch from producing neuronal to glial subtype-specific precursors can be modelled as an interplay between region-restricted components and temporal regulators that determine neurogenic or gliogenic phases of development, contributing to glial diversity. Gaining insight into the developmental genetics of macroglia has great potential to improve our understanding of a variety of neurological disorders in humans.

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Figure 1: Patterns of gliogenesis in embryonic and adult progenitor zones.
Figure 2: Patterning of the neural tube generates unique domains for neuronal and glial progenitors.
Figure 3: Multiple waves of oligodendrocyte production in the mammalian CNS.

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Acknowledgements

We apologize to those whose work we could not cite owing to space limitations. We thank A. Molofsky for comments and M. Jenner for formatting the manuscript. Work in our laboratories is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (A.R.K. and D.H.R.) and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (A.R.K.). D.H.R. is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

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  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, 94143-0525, California, USA

    David H. Rowitch

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, 94143-0525, California, USA

    David H. Rowitch

  3. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, 94143-0525, California, USA

    David H. Rowitch

  4. Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, 94143-0525, California, USA

    Arnold R. Kriegstein

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Rowitch, D., Kriegstein, A. Developmental genetics of vertebrate glial–cell specification. Nature 468, 214–222 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09611

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