RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Indian Hedgehog b Function Is Required for the Specification of Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells in the Zebrafish CNS
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 1728
OP 1733
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3369-12.2013
VO 33
IS 4
A1 Chung, Ah-Young
A1 Kim, Suhyun
A1 Kim, Eunmi
A1 Kim, Dohyun
A1 Jeong, Inyoung
A1 Cha, Young Ryun
A1 Bae, Young-ki
A1 Park, Seung Woo
A1 Lee, Jehee
A1 Park, Hae-Chul
YR 2013
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/4/1728.abstract
AB A subset of ventral spinal cord precursors, known as pMN precursor cells, initially generate motor neurons and then oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), which migrate and differentiate as myelinating oligodendrocytes in the developing neural tube. The switch between motor neuron and oligodendrocyte production by the pMN neural precursors is an important step in building a functional nervous system. However, the precise mechanism that orchestrates the sequential generation of motor neurons and oligodendrocytes within the common population of pMN precursors is still unclear. The current study demonstrates that Indian Hedgehog b (Ihhb), previously known as Echidna Hedgehog, begins to be expressed in the floor plate cells of the ventral spinal cord at the time of OPC specification in zebrafish embryos. Ihhb loss-of-function analysis revealed that Ihhb function is required for OPC specification from pMN precursors by negatively regulating the proliferation of neural precursors. Finally, results showed that Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) could not replace Ihhb function in OPC specification, suggesting that Ihhb and Shh play separate roles in OPC specification. Altogether, data from the present study suggested a novel mechanism, mediated by Ihhb, for the sequential generation of motor neurons and oligodendrocytes from pMN precursors in the ventral spinal cord of zebrafish embryos.