Publications by authors named "Maria Figueres-Onate"
Clonal cell analysis outlines the ontogenic potential of single progenitor cells, allowing the elucidation of the neural heterogeneity among different cell types and their lineages. In this work, we analyze the potency of retinal stem/progenitor cells through development using the chick embryo as a model. We implemented in ovo the clonal genetic tracing strategy UbC-StarTrack for tracking retinal cell lineages derived from individual progenitors of the ciliary margin at E3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Neural cell diversity is crucial for the different functions of brain regions, influenced by specific gene expression in progenitors during development.
- Researchers have discovered that both neurons and astrocytes in the neocortex and thalamus share unique transcriptional and epigenetic signatures, highlighting a commonality in their molecular programs.
- This shared signature not only distinguishes these cells across different brain regions but also remains present even after astrocytes are reprogrammed into neurons, which could aid in developing future brain repair techniques.
Article Synopsis
- The text discusses the importance of understanding how the adult brain develops in terms of size and cellular composition from progenitor cells in the field of Developmental Neurobiology.
- It highlights the role of lineage cell tracing techniques to track the development of progenitor cells into functional neural cells, emphasizing advancements like genetic modification and single-cell sequencing.
- The review also addresses the impact these strategies have had on our understanding of neural cell relationships, as well as future directions for exploring cell diversity and lineage development in the brain.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates the connection between variations in the olfactory bulb and the diversity of progenitor cells in the subventricular zone (SVZ), which contribute to its development.
- - By using modified StarTrack genetic tracing techniques, researchers focused on E12 mice embryos to track the fate of neural progenitors that migrate to the olfactory bulb in adults.
- - The research highlights the distribution and diversity of interneurons in the olfactory bulb, examining their origins, differences, and genetic characteristics linked to specific SVZ progenitor cells.
Article Synopsis
- Understanding the role of adult neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in the brain is complex, and this research focuses on their diversity and relationships in the subventricular zone (SVZ).
- The study used in vivo lineage-tracing techniques to analyze the offspring of single SVZ-NPCs, revealing varying clone sizes and dispersion patterns based on the type of sibling cells (neural or glial).
- Findings indicate that while some sibling cells, like olfactory interneurons and glial cells, tend to cluster in specific areas, oligodendroglial lineage clones are larger and more widely spread, highlighting the bipotential nature of postnatal NPCs in adult brains.
The adult mouse brain contains an extensive neurogenic niche in the lateral walls of the lateral ventricles. This epithelium, which has a unique pinwheel organization, contains multiciliated ependymal (E1) cells and neural stem cells (B1). This postnatal germinal epithelium develops from the embryonic ventricular zone, but the lineage relationship between E1 and B1 cells remains unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- A research study investigates how neural stem cells develop into astrocytes during brain development using a combination of transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses.
- The researchers discovered distinct phases of astrogliogenesis with unique gene expression profiles and chromatin states, highlighting the importance of specific regulatory elements.
- Key transcription factors NFIA and ATF3 were found to drive the differentiation process, while RUNX2 promotes the maturation of astrocytes by activating gene expression programs.
Article Synopsis
- - The study focuses on the creation and diversity of different types of astrocytes in the cerebellum, revealing a well-organized developmental program that shapes their formation over time.
- - Key findings show a decrease in clone size and multipotency of progenitors as development progresses, with specific allocations of astrocyte types to different regions of the cerebellum.
- - Through clonal analysis and simulations, the research suggests that a single multipotent progenitor is insufficient to account for the diversity of astrocytes, indicating the influence of other committed progenitor components in their development.
Article Synopsis
- Clonal cell analysis reveals the potential and diversity of single cells, showcasing their progeny through an innovative method called UbC-StarTrack.
- This method assigns unique color codes to neural precursor cells, allowing researchers to track all resulting cell types using stable fluorescent markers integrated into the genome.
- The study successfully validated UbC-StarTrack across various experimental settings, including embryonic and postnatal stages, highlighting its capability to trace cell lineages and demonstrate the diverse neurons and glia produced by targeted progenitors.
Neurons are generated during embryonic development and in adulthood, although adult neurogenesis is restricted to two main brain regions, the hippocampus and olfactory bulb. The subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles generates neural stem/progenitor cells that continually provide the olfactory bulb (OB) with new granule or periglomerular neurons, cells that arrive from the SVZ via the rostral migratory stream. The continued neurogenesis and the adequate integration of these newly generated interneurons is essential to maintain homeostasis in the olfactory bulb, where the differentiation of these cells into specific neural cell types is strongly influenced by temporal cues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The text discusses the distinct types of GABAergic interneurons found in the mouse cerebellum, detailing their origins from specific progenitor cells during embryonic and postnatal development.
- It highlights two germinal sites in the postnatal cerebellum—the prospective white matter (PWM) and the Purkinje cell layer (PCL)—noting that while PWM produces GABAergic interneurons, PCL primarily generates astrocytes.
- Finally, the research demonstrates that the PWM contains a unique bipotent progenitor capable of developing into both GABAergic interneurons and astrocytes, shedding light on the proliferative dynamics and lineage differentiation in these regions.
Genetic lineage tracing with electroporation is one of the most powerful techniques to target neural progenitor cells and their progeny. However, the spatiotemporal relationship between neural progenitors and their final phenotype remain poorly understood. One critical factor to analyze the cell fate of progeny is reporter integration into the genome of transfected cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe olfactory system has a highly regular organization of interconnected synaptic circuits from the periphery. It is therefore an excellent model for understanding general principles about how the brain processes information. Cajal revealed the basic cell types and their interconnections at the end of the XIX century.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF