The premature increase of oxygen tension may contribute to oligodendroglial precursor cell (OPC) damage in preterm infants. Fetal OPCs are exposed to low oxygen tissue tensions not matched when cells are cultured in room air. Maturation (A2B5, O4, O1, MBP, CNP, arborization), oxidative stress (nitrotyrosine Western blot, NRF2 and SOD2 expression), apoptosis (TUNEL), proliferation (Ki67), and ex...

Progenitor cells that express the transcription factor olig1 generate several neural cell types including oligodendrocytes and GABAergic interneurons in the dorsal cortex. The fate of these progenitor cells is regulated by a number of signals including bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) secreted in the dorsal forebrain. BMPs signal by binding to heteromeric serine-threonine kinase receptors for...

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling inhibits the generation of oligodendroglia and enhances generation of astrocytes by neural progenitor cells both in vitro and in vivo. This study examined the mechanisms underlying the effects of BMP signaling on glial lineage commitment. Treatment of cultured neural progenitor cells with BMP4 induced expression of all four members of the inhibitor of ...

In the developing CNS, neurons and glia are sequentially produced from the ventricular neural progenitor cells. One fundamental question in developmental neurobiology is what signals or factors control the developmental switch from neurogenesis to gliogenesis. Here we report that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an essential role in this important developmental process. Inhibition of miRNA formation in ...