New Types of Glial Cells

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The two novel types of neuroglial cells — usually referred to simply as glial cells or glia — may play an important role in brain plasticity and repair, according to new research led by the University of Basel.
A glial cell of new type (green), arising from adult stem cells in the brain, contacts nerve cells (magenta). Image credit: Biozentrum, University of Basel.
Neural stem cells in the adult mouse brain can generate both neurons and glia.
Exactly where each stem cell is positioned can determine what type of neurons it generates.
In the new study, University of Basel’s Professor Fiona Doetsch and colleagues focused on stem cells in the ventricular-subventricular zone of the adult mouse brain.
In this region, many of the stem cells are in a quiescent state, sensing signals in the environment that stimulate them to awaken and transform into new nerve cells.
The researchers were able to identify a molecular signal that awakened the stem cells from their quiescent state, allowing them to uncover multiple domains that give rise to glial cells in this stem cell reservoir.
“We found an activation switch for quiescent stem cells,” Professor Doetsch said.
“It is a receptor that maintains the stem cells in their resting state.”
“We were able to turn off this switch and thus activate the stem cells.”
The scientists also were able to visualize the development of the stem cells into different glial cells in specific areas of the stem cell niche.
“Some of the stem cells did not develop into neurons, but into two different novel types of glial cells,” Professor Doetsch said.
“This brain region studied is therefore a birthplace for different types of glial cells as well as its role as a breeding ground for neurons.”
“What was very unexpected was that one glial cell type was found attached to the surface of the wall of the brain ventricle, rather than in the brain tissue.”
“These cells are continuously bathed by cerebrospinal fluid and interact with axons from other brain areas, and therefore are poised to sense and integrate multiple long-range signals.”
The authors also found that both glial cell types were activated in a model of demyelination.
They may be a source of cells for repair in neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or after injury.
They now plan to trace these new glial cell types and to investigate their roles in normal brain function and how they respond in different physiological contexts.
“This will provide important clues to understanding brain plasticity and how the renewal and repair of neural tissue occurs,” they said.
The findings were published in the journal Science.
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Ana C. Delgado et al. 2021. Release of stem cells from quiescence reveals gliogenic domains in the adult mouse brain. Science 372 (6547): 1205-1209; doi: 10.1126/science.abg8467

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