Astrocytes are recognized to be a heterogeneous population of cells that differ morphologically, functionally and molecularly. Whether this heterogeneity results from generation of distinct astrocyte cell lineages, each functionally specialized to perform specific tasks, remains an open question. In this study, we used RNA-seq analysis to determine the global transcriptome profile of the Olig2-expressing astrocyte subtype (Olig2-AS), a specific spinal astrocyte subtype which segregates early during development from Olig2 progenitors and differs from other spinal astrocytes by the expression of Olig2. We identified 245 differentially expressed genes. Among them, 135 exhibit higher levels of expression when compared to other populations of spinal astrocytes, indicating that these genes can serve as a unique functional signature of Olig2-AS. Further analysis highlighted, in particular, enrichment in Olig2-AS of a set of genes specialized in regulating synaptic activity. Our work thus reveals that Olig2 progenitors produce a unique astrocyte subtype specialized to perform certain specific functions.

中文翻译：

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表达Olig2的星形胶质细胞亚型的转录组分析揭示了其独特的分子特征

星形胶质细胞被认为是形态，功能和分子上均不同的异质细胞群。这种异质性是否是由于产生不同的星形胶质细胞谱系而产生的，每个谱系在功能上都专门执行特定的任务，这仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。在这项研究中，我们使用RNA序列分析来确定表达Olig2的星形胶质细胞亚型（Olig2-AS）的整体转录组谱，这是一种特定的脊髓星形胶质细胞亚型，在发育过程中与Olig2祖细胞分离，并且与其他脊髓星形胶质细胞的区别在于Olig2的表达。我们鉴定了245个差异表达的基因。其中135个与其他星形胶质细胞相比具有更高的表达水平，表明这些基因可以作为Olig2-AS的独特功能性标志。进一步的分析特别强调了Olig2-AS富集了一组专门调节突触活性的基因。因此，我们的工作揭示了Olig2祖细胞产生独特的星形胶质细胞亚型，专门执行某些特定功能。