Cited by 507Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanismsNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

Local generation of glia is a major astrocyte source in postnatal cortex

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Ge, Woo-Ping, Miyawaki, Atsushi, Gage, Fred H., Jan, Yuh Nung, Jan, Lily Yeh·2012·Nature

Abstract

Glial cells constitute nearly 50% of the cells in the human brain. Astrocytes, which make up the largest glial population, are crucial to the regulation of synaptic connectivity during postnatal development. Because defects in astrocyte generation are associated with severe neurological disorders such as brain tumours, it is important to understand how astrocytes are produced. Astrocytes reportedly arise from two sources: radial glia in the ventricular zone and progenitors in the subventricular zone, with the contribution from each region shifting with time. During the first three weeks of postnatal development, the glial cell population, which contains predominantly astrocytes, expands 6-8-fold in the rodent brain. Little is known about the mechanisms underlying this expansion. Here we show that a major source of glia in the postnatal cortex in mice is the local proliferation of differentiated astrocytes. Unlike glial progenitors in the subventricular zone, differentiated astrocytes undergo symmetric division, and their progeny integrate functionally into the existing glial network as mature astrocytes that form endfeet with blood vessels, couple electrically to neighbouring astrocytes, and take up glutamate after neuronal activity.

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  • Astrocytes are generated from radial glial cells in the ventricular zone and from intermediate progenitors in the subventricular zone after the peak of neurogenesis.

    “Astrocytes being the most abundant type of glial cells within cortical areas, are generated from the radial glial cells in the VZ and from the intermediate progenitors in the SVZ after the peak of neurogenesis [53].”

    From Development of prefrontal cortex (2022) · cites this paper as [53]

    The Abstract (page unavailable) says astrocytes reportedly arise from radial glia in the ventricular zone and progenitors in the subventricular zone, with their contributions shifting over time. It does not identify the SVZ cells specifically as intermediate progenitors or tie both sources to a point after the peak of neurogenesis. It instead identifies local division of differentiated astrocytes as a major source in the postnatal mouse cortex. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Ge, W.-P., Miyawaki, A., Gage, F. H., Jan, Y. N., & Jan, L. Y.
Affiliations
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
  • Japan Science and Technology Agency (JP)
  • Salk Institute for Biological Studies (US)
Corresponding author
Jan, Lily Yeh
Venue
Nature
Published
2012-03-28
Volume
484
Issue
7394
Pages
376-380
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2163958669
Cited by
507
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 44 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 37 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 32 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 36 · 2012: 14
FWCI
13.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • National Institute on Aging (P01AG010435)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH090258, R01MH084234, R37MH065334, MH090258)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R00NS073735, K99NS073735)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
astrocyte proliferation, astrocyte endfeet, glutamate uptake, radial glia, symmetric cell division, astrocyte development, mouse brain
MeSH terms
Animals, Animals, Newborn, Astrocytes, Cell Differentiation, Cell Division, Cerebral Cortex, Mice, Transgenic, Neuroglia, Glutamic Acid, Cell Lineage, Cell Proliferation, Mice, Time-Lapse Imaging

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