Lineage trajectories and fate determinants of postnatal neural stem cells and ependymal cells in the developing ventricular zone.

The ventricular zone (VZ) harbors the largest neurogenic niche in the adult mammalian brain and is consisted of neural stem cells (NSCs) and multiciliated ependymal cells (EPCs). Previous lineage tracing studies showed that both NSCs and EPCs were derived from radial glial cells (RGCs). However, the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jianqun Zheng, Yawen Chen, Yukun Hu, Yujian Zhu, Jie Lin, Manlin Xu, Yunlong Zhang, Weihong Song, Xi Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-07-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003318
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849400627704102912
author Jianqun Zheng
Yawen Chen
Yukun Hu
Yujian Zhu
Jie Lin
Manlin Xu
Yunlong Zhang
Weihong Song
Xi Chen
author_facet Jianqun Zheng
Yawen Chen
Yukun Hu
Yujian Zhu
Jie Lin
Manlin Xu
Yunlong Zhang
Weihong Song
Xi Chen
author_sort Jianqun Zheng
collection DOAJ
description The ventricular zone (VZ) harbors the largest neurogenic niche in the adult mammalian brain and is consisted of neural stem cells (NSCs) and multiciliated ependymal cells (EPCs). Previous lineage tracing studies showed that both NSCs and EPCs were derived from radial glial cells (RGCs). However, the transcriptomic dynamics and the molecular mechanisms guiding the cell fate commitment during the differentiation remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed the developing VZ of mice at single-cell resolution and identified three distinct cellular states of RGCs: bipotent glial progenitor cells (bGPCs), neonatal NSC-neuroblasts (nNSC-NBs) and neonatal EPCs (nEPCs). The differentiation from bGPCs to nNSC-NBs and nEPCs forms a continuous bifurcating trajectory. Analysis along the NSC branch unveiled a novel intermediate state of cells expressing oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) and neuroblast (NB) marker genes simultaneously. Several transcription factors (TFs) were found to be essential for the EPC-lineage differentiation. Notably, we uncovered that TFEB can tune NSC/EPC bifurcation, independent of its canonical function as a master regulator of the lysosome biogenesis. TFEB activation prevents the overproduction of EPCs by cooperating with LHX2 to balance the expressions of many multicilia-related genes while promotes the differentiation into NSC-NBs. Our results resolve the dynamic repertoire of divergent RGCs during VZ development and offer novel insights into the potential application of TFEB-targeted clinical drugs in VZ-related disorders, such as hydrocephalus and neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs).
format Article
id doaj-art-c38680feaac04ca4a4c5804cbb124bf6
institution Kabale University
issn 1544-9173
1545-7885
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Biology
spelling doaj-art-c38680feaac04ca4a4c5804cbb124bf62025-08-20T03:37:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852025-07-01237e300331810.1371/journal.pbio.3003318Lineage trajectories and fate determinants of postnatal neural stem cells and ependymal cells in the developing ventricular zone.Jianqun ZhengYawen ChenYukun HuYujian ZhuJie LinManlin XuYunlong ZhangWeihong SongXi ChenThe ventricular zone (VZ) harbors the largest neurogenic niche in the adult mammalian brain and is consisted of neural stem cells (NSCs) and multiciliated ependymal cells (EPCs). Previous lineage tracing studies showed that both NSCs and EPCs were derived from radial glial cells (RGCs). However, the transcriptomic dynamics and the molecular mechanisms guiding the cell fate commitment during the differentiation remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed the developing VZ of mice at single-cell resolution and identified three distinct cellular states of RGCs: bipotent glial progenitor cells (bGPCs), neonatal NSC-neuroblasts (nNSC-NBs) and neonatal EPCs (nEPCs). The differentiation from bGPCs to nNSC-NBs and nEPCs forms a continuous bifurcating trajectory. Analysis along the NSC branch unveiled a novel intermediate state of cells expressing oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) and neuroblast (NB) marker genes simultaneously. Several transcription factors (TFs) were found to be essential for the EPC-lineage differentiation. Notably, we uncovered that TFEB can tune NSC/EPC bifurcation, independent of its canonical function as a master regulator of the lysosome biogenesis. TFEB activation prevents the overproduction of EPCs by cooperating with LHX2 to balance the expressions of many multicilia-related genes while promotes the differentiation into NSC-NBs. Our results resolve the dynamic repertoire of divergent RGCs during VZ development and offer novel insights into the potential application of TFEB-targeted clinical drugs in VZ-related disorders, such as hydrocephalus and neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs).https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003318
spellingShingle Jianqun Zheng
Yawen Chen
Yukun Hu
Yujian Zhu
Jie Lin
Manlin Xu
Yunlong Zhang
Weihong Song
Xi Chen
Lineage trajectories and fate determinants of postnatal neural stem cells and ependymal cells in the developing ventricular zone.
PLoS Biology
title Lineage trajectories and fate determinants of postnatal neural stem cells and ependymal cells in the developing ventricular zone.
title_full Lineage trajectories and fate determinants of postnatal neural stem cells and ependymal cells in the developing ventricular zone.
title_fullStr Lineage trajectories and fate determinants of postnatal neural stem cells and ependymal cells in the developing ventricular zone.
title_full_unstemmed Lineage trajectories and fate determinants of postnatal neural stem cells and ependymal cells in the developing ventricular zone.
title_short Lineage trajectories and fate determinants of postnatal neural stem cells and ependymal cells in the developing ventricular zone.
title_sort lineage trajectories and fate determinants of postnatal neural stem cells and ependymal cells in the developing ventricular zone
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003318
work_keys_str_mv AT jianqunzheng lineagetrajectoriesandfatedeterminantsofpostnatalneuralstemcellsandependymalcellsinthedevelopingventricularzone
AT yawenchen lineagetrajectoriesandfatedeterminantsofpostnatalneuralstemcellsandependymalcellsinthedevelopingventricularzone
AT yukunhu lineagetrajectoriesandfatedeterminantsofpostnatalneuralstemcellsandependymalcellsinthedevelopingventricularzone
AT yujianzhu lineagetrajectoriesandfatedeterminantsofpostnatalneuralstemcellsandependymalcellsinthedevelopingventricularzone
AT jielin lineagetrajectoriesandfatedeterminantsofpostnatalneuralstemcellsandependymalcellsinthedevelopingventricularzone
AT manlinxu lineagetrajectoriesandfatedeterminantsofpostnatalneuralstemcellsandependymalcellsinthedevelopingventricularzone
AT yunlongzhang lineagetrajectoriesandfatedeterminantsofpostnatalneuralstemcellsandependymalcellsinthedevelopingventricularzone
AT weihongsong lineagetrajectoriesandfatedeterminantsofpostnatalneuralstemcellsandependymalcellsinthedevelopingventricularzone
AT xichen lineagetrajectoriesandfatedeterminantsofpostnatalneuralstemcellsandependymalcellsinthedevelopingventricularzone