Olig2+/NG2+/BLBP+ astrocyte progenitors: a novel component of the neurovascular unit in the developing mouse hippocampus.

Astrocytes are key components of the neurovascular unit. While we have recently identified Olig2+ astrocyte progenitors (ASPs) in the developing mouse dentate gyrus (DG), their molecular signature remains incompletely characterized. Here we demonstrate that Olig2+ ASPs predominantly express brain lipid-binding protein (BLBP), while only a small population of them expresses -GFP.

PSmad3+/Olig2- expression defines a subpopulation of GFP+/Sox9+ neural progenitors and radial glia-like cells in mouse dentate gyrus through embryonic and postnatal development.

In mouse dentate gyrus, radial glia-like cells (RGLs) persist throughout life and play a critical role in the generation of granule neurons. A large body of evidence has shown that the combinatorial expression of transcription factors (TFs) defines cell types in the developing central nervous system (CNS). As yet, the identification of specific TFs that exclusively define RGLs in the developing mouse dentate gyrus (DG) remains elusive.