Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jun 27:8:133.
doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00133. eCollection 2014.

NG2 cells (polydendrocytes) in brain physiology and repair

Akiko Nishiyama  1 , Ryusuke Suzuki  1 , Xiaoqin Zhu  1
Affiliations

NG2 cells (polydendrocytes) in brain physiology and repair

Akiko Nishiyama et al. Front Neurosci. .

Abstract

NG2 cells, also referred to as oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) or polydendrocytes, represent a major resident glial cell population that is distinct from mature astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, and neural stem cells and exist throughout the gray and white matter of the developing and mature central nervous system (CNS). While their most established fate is the oligodendrocyte, they retain lineage plasticity in an age- and region-specific manner. During development, they contribute to 36% of protoplasmic astrocytes in the ventral forebrain. Despite intense investigation on the neuronal fate of NG2 cells, there is no definitive evidence that they contribute substantially to the neuronal population. NG2 cells have attributes that suggest that they have functions other than to generate oligodendrocytes, but their exact role in the neural network remains unknown. Under pathological states, NG2 cells not only contribute to myelin repair, but they become activated in response to a wide variety of insults and could play a primary role in pathogenesis.

Keywords: NG2; cell fate; demyelination; myelin; oligodendrocyte; polydendrocyte; subventricular zone.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A schematic showing the fate of NG2 cells throughout development. The middle diagram depicts self-renewing NG2 cells, with a chronological scale across the top. Black arrows indicate the rate of proliferation, which is greatest perinatally. Blue upward arrows indicate oligodendrocyte differentiation, peaking during the third postnatal week. Purple downward arrows indicate astrocyte differentiation, which occurs predominantly before birth and gradually ceases shortly after birth. The thickness of the arrows denotes the extent of differentiation. Modified from Nishiyama (2007).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Lineage-dependent and independent reporter expression in Cre-loxP fate mapping. (A,B) Double labeling for GFP and the neuronal marker NeuN in the neocortex of NG2cre:zeg mice at P14 (A) and P70 (B). NeuN+ GFP+ cells with mature neuronal morphology (arrows) are seen as well as NeuN- GFP+ NG2 cells (arrowheads) in P70 but not in P14 cortex. (C–F) Transfection of zeg reporter plasmid into neuronal precursor cells in NG2cre single transgenic mice. (C) Scheme showing co-transfection of DsRed and zeg plasmid DNA into the lateral ventricles of E13.5 NG2cre single transgenic mice by in utero electroporation and positioning the electrodes to target the dorsal pallium. (D–F) GFP expression in electroporated neurons at P70. All the GFP+ cells were neurons that had been electroporated (DsRed+), and no GFP+ glial cells were detected. This experiment demonstrates that Cre is activated directly in neocortical neurons of NG2cre mice at some point between P14 and P70, leading to GFP expression in neurons. Unlike the case for oligodendrocytes shown in G, there were no GFP+ cells that appeared to be in transition from NG2 cells to neurons. (G) Corpus callosum from P70 NG2creER:YFP mice 14 days after Cre induction with 4-hydroxytamoxifen. A cell that appears to be transitioning from an NG2 cell (NG2+ YFP+) into an NG2- oligodendrocyte (NG2- YFP+) with weak NG2 immunoreactivity in the processes (arrowheads) is seen next to a typical NG2 cell that robustly expresses NG2 (arrow). Inset shows single labeling of the cell marked by arrowhead for NG2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Aguirre A., Dupree J. L., Mangin J. M., Gallo V. (2007). A functional role for EGFR signaling in myelination and remyelination. Nat. Neurosci. 10, 990–1002 10.1038/nn1938 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aguirre A., Gallo V. (2004). Postnatal neurogenesis and gliogenesis in the olfactory bulb from NG2-expressing progenitors of the subventricular zone. J. Neurosci. 24, 10530–10541 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3572-04.2004 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bai J., Ramos R. L., Ackman J. B., Thomas A. M., Lee R. V., LoTurco J. J. (2003). RNAi reveals doublecortin is required for radial migration in rat neocortex. Nat. Neurosci. 6, 1277–1283 10.1038/nn1153 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bergles D. E., Roberts J. D., Somogyi P., Jahr C. E. (2000). Glutamatergic synapses on oligodendrocyte precursor cells in the hippocampus. Nature 405, 187–191 10.1038/35012083 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bu J., Akhtar N., Nishiyama A. (2001). Transient expression of the NG2 proteoglycan by a subpopulation of activated macrophages in an excitotoxic hippocampal lesion. Glia 34, 296–310 10.1002/glia.1063 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources