NG2 glia are required for vessel network formation during embryonic development

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Abstract

The NG2⁺ glia, also known as polydendrocytes or oligodendrocyte precursor cells, represent a new entity among glial cell populations in the central nervous system. However, the complete repertoire of their roles is not yet identified. The embryonic NG2⁺ glia originate from the Nkx2.1⁺ progenitors of the ventral telencephalon. Our analysis unravels that, beginning from E12.5 until E16.5, the NG2⁺ glia populate the entire dorsal telencephalon. Interestingly, their appearance temporally coincides with the establishment of blood vessel network in the embryonic brain. NG2⁺ glia are closely apposed to developing cerebral vessels by being either positioned at the sprouting tip cells or tethered along the vessel walls. Absence of NG2⁺ glia drastically affects the vascular development leading to severe reduction of ramifications and connections by E18.5. By revealing a novel and fundamental role for NG2⁺ glia, our study brings new perspectives to mechanisms underlying proper vessels network formation in embryonic brains.

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Shilpi Minocha

Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Delphine Valloton

Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Isabelle Brunet

Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, Collège de France, Paris, France

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Anne Eichmann

Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, Collège de France, Paris, France

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Jean-Pierre Hornung

Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Lausanne, Lausnne, Switzerland

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Cecile Lebrand

Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

For correspondence
cecile.lebrand@unil.ch

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Ethics

Animal experimentation: All studies on mice of either sex have been performed in compliance with the national and international guidelines and with the approval of the Federation of Swiss cantonal Veterinary Officers (2164).

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.