Selective neuronal lineages derived from Dll4‐expressing progenitors/precursors in the retina and spinal cord. Issue 1 (16th September 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zou, Min; Luo, Huijun; Xiang, Mengqing
• Is Part Of: Developmental dynamics. Volume 244:Issue 1(2015:Jan.)
• Page Start: 86
• Page End: 97
• Publication Date: 2014-09-16
• Subjects: Morphogenesis -- Periodicals; Anatomy -- Periodicals; Anatomie -- Périodiques; Biologie du développement -- Périodiques; 571.833
• DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.24185
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1058-8388

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p> <underline> <bold>Background:</bold> </underline> During retinal and spinal cord neurogenesis, Notch signaling plays crucial roles in regulating proliferation and differentiation of progenitor cells. One of the Notch ligands, Delta‐like 4 (Dll4), has been shown to be expressed in subsets of retinal and spinal cord progenitors/precursors and involved in neuronal subtype specification. However, it remains to be determined whether Dll4 expression has any progenitor/precursor‐specificity contributing to its functional specificity during neural development. <underline><bold>Results:</bold></underline> We generated a <italic>Dll4‐Cre</italic> BAC transgenic mouse line that drives Cre recombinase expression mimicking that of the endogenous Dll4 in the developing retina and spinal cord. By fate‐mapping analysis, we found that Dll4‐expressing progenitors/precursors give rise to essentially all cone, amacrine and horizontal cells, a large portion of rod and ganglion cells, but only few bipolar and Müller cells. In the spinal cord, Dll4‐expressing progenitors/precursors generate almost all V2a and V2c cells while producing only a fraction of the cells for other interneuron and motor neuron subtypes along the dorsoventral axis. <underline><bold>Conclusions:</bold></underline> Our data suggest that selective expression of Dll4 in progenitors/precursors contributes to its functional specificity in neuronal specification and that the <italic>Dll4‐Cre</italic> line is a valuable tool for gene manipulation to study Notch signaling. <italic>Developmental Dynamics 244:86–97, 2015</italic>. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.</p> </abstract>