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Radial glia
 
 
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Radial glial cells, are a pivotal cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 type in the developing central nervous system
Central nervous system

The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that functions to coordinate the activity of all parts of the bodies of multicellular organisms....
 (CNS) involved in key developmental processes, from patterning and neuronal migration to their recently discovered role as precursor
Progenitor cell

Like stem cells, progenitor cells have a capacity to differentiate into a specific type of cell. In contrast to stem cells, however, they are already far more specific: they are pushed to differentiate into their "target" cell....
s during neurogenesis
Neurogenesis

Neurogenesis is the process by which neurons are created. Most active during pre-natal development, neurogenesis is responsible for populating the growing brain....
. They arise early in development from neuroepithelial cell
Neuroepithelial cell

Neuroepithelial cells are a subtype of stem cell. When dividing, the neuroepithelial cell undergoes a proliferative division producing two identical cells....
s. Radial phenotype is typically transient, but some cells, such as Bergmann glia in the cerebellum
Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a region of the brain that plays an important role in the integration of perception, coordination and motoneuron control. In order to coordinate motor control, there are many neural pathways linking the cerebellum with the cerebrum motor cortex and the spinocerebellar tract ....
 and Muller glia
Muller glia

M?ller glia, or M?ller cells, are glial cells found in the vertebrate retina, which normally serve the functions of any normal glial cells....
 in the retina
Retina

The vertebrate retina is a light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera....
, retain radial glia-like morphology postnatally.






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Radial glial cells, are a pivotal cell
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 type in the developing central nervous system
Central nervous system

The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that functions to coordinate the activity of all parts of the bodies of multicellular organisms....
 (CNS) involved in key developmental processes, from patterning and neuronal migration to their recently discovered role as precursor
Progenitor cell

Like stem cells, progenitor cells have a capacity to differentiate into a specific type of cell. In contrast to stem cells, however, they are already far more specific: they are pushed to differentiate into their "target" cell....
s during neurogenesis
Neurogenesis

Neurogenesis is the process by which neurons are created. Most active during pre-natal development, neurogenesis is responsible for populating the growing brain....
. They arise early in development from neuroepithelial cell
Neuroepithelial cell

Neuroepithelial cells are a subtype of stem cell. When dividing, the neuroepithelial cell undergoes a proliferative division producing two identical cells....
s. Radial phenotype is typically transient, but some cells, such as Bergmann glia in the cerebellum
Cerebellum

The cerebellum is a region of the brain that plays an important role in the integration of perception, coordination and motoneuron control. In order to coordinate motor control, there are many neural pathways linking the cerebellum with the cerebrum motor cortex and the spinocerebellar tract ....
 and Muller glia
Muller glia

M?ller glia, or M?ller cells, are glial cells found in the vertebrate retina, which normally serve the functions of any normal glial cells....
 in the retina
Retina

The vertebrate retina is a light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera....
, retain radial glia-like morphology postnatally. According to recent research, during the late stages of cortical development, radial glial cells divide asymmetrically in the ventricular zone to generate radial glial cells and intermediate progenitor cells and after that intermediate progenitor cells divide symmetrically in the subventricular zone
Subventricular zone

Subventricular zone is a paired brain structure situated throughout the lateral walls of the lateral ventricles. Along with the subgranular zone of dentate gyrus, the subventricular zone serves as a source of neural stem cells in the process of adult neurogenesis....
 to produce multiple neurons.

The term 'radial glial cell' refers to their two major characteristics, their long radial processes
Process (anatomy)

In anatomy, a process is a projection or outgrowth of tissue from a larger body....
 extending from the ventricular zone (VZ) to the pial surface
Pia mater

The pia mater is the delicate innermost layer of the meninges?the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.The thin, mesh-like pia mater closely envelops the entire surface of the brain, running down into the fissures of the cortex....
 and their glial properties, such as the content of glycogen
Glycogen

Glycogen is a polysaccharide of glucose which functions as the secondary short term energy storage in animal cells. It is made primarily by the liver and the muscles, but can also be made by the brain and stomach....
 granules or the expression of the astrocyte
Astrocyte

Astrocytes are characteristic star-shaped neuroglia cell in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical support of endothelial cells which form the blood-brain barrier, the provision of nutrients to the nervous tissue, and a principal role in the repair and scarring process of the brain and spinal cord fol...
-specific glutamate transporter or the glial fibrillary acidic protein
Glial fibrillary acidic protein

Glial fibrillary acidic protein is an intermediate filament protein that is thought to be specific for astrocytes in CNS. Later it was shown that GFAP also is expressed by other cell types in CNS - ependymal cells....
 (GFAP). Another radial glia-specific protein is the brain lipid binding protein
FABP7

Fatty acid binding protein 7, brain , is a human gene.FABP7 is expressed, during development, in radial glia by the activation of Notch receptors....
 (FABP7), expression of which could be induced by Notch-1 activation, in particular, when acted upon by reelin
Reelin

Reelin is a protein that helps regulate processes of Neural development#Neuronal Migration and positioning in the developing brain. Besides this important role in early development, reelin continues to work in the adult brain....
. Interestingliy, Notch 1, then activated before birth, induces radial glia differentiation, but postnatally induces the differentiation into astrocyte
Astrocyte

Astrocytes are characteristic star-shaped neuroglia cell in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical support of endothelial cells which form the blood-brain barrier, the provision of nutrients to the nervous tissue, and a principal role in the repair and scarring process of the brain and spinal cord fol...
s.

Studies show that radial glial cells characterized by long radial processes and astroglial
Astrocyte

Astrocytes are characteristic star-shaped neuroglia cell in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical support of endothelial cells which form the blood-brain barrier, the provision of nutrients to the nervous tissue, and a principal role in the repair and scarring process of the brain and spinal cord fol...
 properties constitute the majority of precursors during neurogenesis
Neurogenesis

Neurogenesis is the process by which neurons are created. Most active during pre-natal development, neurogenesis is responsible for populating the growing brain....
. Indeed, all radial glial cells divide throughout neurogenesis and give rise to the majority of projection neurons in the cerebral cortex
Cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex is a structure within the brain that plays a key role in memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness....
.

Expression of the PAX6
PAX6

Paired box gene 6 , also known as PAX6, is a gene in humans and other animals.PAX6 is the most researched of the Pax genes and appears throughout the literature as a "master control" gene for the development of eyes and other sensory organs, certain neural and epidermal tissues as well as other homology structures, usually deri...
, a transcription factor
Transcription factor

In the field of molecular biology, a transcription factor is a protein that binds to specific DNA sequence and thereby controls the transfer of genetic information from DNA to RNA....
, was found to be the key feature of neurogenic radial glia.

See also

  • Glia
  • Bergmann glia
  • Muller glia
    Muller glia

    M?ller glia, or M?ller cells, are glial cells found in the vertebrate retina, which normally serve the functions of any normal glial cells....


Sources

  • Hartfuss E, Forster E, Bock HH, Hack MA, Leprince P, Luque JM, Herz J, Frotscher M, Gotz M. (2003) Reelin signaling directly affects radial glia morphology and biochemical maturation. Development 130(19):4597-609. PMID 12925587