Stem Cell Reports
Volume 14, Issue 6, 9 June 2020, Pages 1093-1106
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Article
VCAM1 Labels a Subpopulation of Neural Stem Cells in the Adult Hippocampus and Contributes to Spatial Memory

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.05.012Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • VCAM1 expresses on the cell surface of qNSCs in adult hippocampus

  • VCAM1+ cells were multipotent and capable of generating neurons and astrocytes

  • Loss of VCAM1+ cells impaired spatial learning and memory in mice.

Summary

Active neural stem cells (aNSCs) and quiescent neural stem cells (qNSCs) are two distinct subpopulations found in the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). However, to date, no cell surface marker has been established to identify and profile qNSCs in the adult hippocampus. Here, we identified expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1) on the cell surface of NSCs, through which we identified a previously unrecognized subpopulation of NSCs in the adult mouse DG. Interestingly, most VCAM1-expressing NSCs were largely quiescent. By injecting virus into Ai14 reporter mice to conduct lineage tracing in the adult DG, we confirmed that VCAM1-expressing cells were multipotent and capable of generating neurons and astrocytes. Furthermore, depletion of Vcam1 during the embryonic or adult stage impaired spatial learning and memory in mice, accompanied by a reduced number of radial glial-like cells and proliferating NSCs in the subgranular zone of Vcam1 knockout mice.

Key words

adult NSCs
hippocampus
quiescent
VCAM1
memory
GZ
multipotent
Lineage tracing

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