There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.
Abstract
Neurons and oligodendrocytes are produced in the adult brain subventricular zone (SVZ)
from neural stem cells (B cells), which express GFAP and have morphological properties
of astrocytes. We report here on the identification B cells expressing the PDGFRalpha
in the adult SVZ. Specifically labeled PDGFRalpha expressing B cells in vivo generate
neurons and oligodendrocytes. Conditional ablation of PDGFRalpha in a subpopulation
of postnatal stem cells showed that this receptor is required for oligodendrogenesis,
but not neurogenesis. Infusion of PDGF alone was sufficient to arrest neuroblast production
and induce SVZ B cell proliferation contributing to the generation of large hyperplasias
with some features of gliomas. The work demonstrates that PDGFRalpha signaling occurs
early in the adult stem cell lineage and may help regulate the balance between oligodendrocyte
and neuron production. Excessive PDGF activation in the SVZ in stem cells is sufficient
to induce hallmarks associated with early stages of tumor formation.