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A population of Nestin-expressing progenitors in the cerebellum exhibits increased tumorigenicity

Nature Neuroscience volume 16, pages 1737–1744 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

It is generally believed that cerebellar granule neurons originate exclusively from granule neuron precursors (GNPs) in the external germinal layer (EGL). Here we identified a rare population of neuronal progenitors in mouse developing cerebellum that expresses Nestin. Although Nestin is widely considered a marker for multipotent stem cells, these Nestin-expressing progenitors (NEPs) are committed to the granule neuron lineage. Unlike conventional GNPs, which reside in the outer EGL and proliferate extensively, NEPs reside in the deep part of the EGL and are quiescent. Expression profiling revealed that NEPs are distinct from GNPs and, in particular, express markedly reduced levels of genes associated with DNA repair. Consistent with this, upon aberrant activation of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling, NEPs exhibited more severe genomic instability and gave rise to tumors more efficiently than GNPs. These studies revealed a previously unidentified progenitor for cerebellar granule neurons and a cell of origin for medulloblastoma.

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Figure 1: Identification and purification of NEPs in the developing cerebellum.
Figure 2: Neuronal lineage commitment of NEPs in vivo and in vitro.
Figure 3: Lineage independence of NEPs and GNPs.
Figure 4: Shh-induced proliferation among NEPs.
Figure 5: Deficiency in DNA repair of NEPs.
Figure 6: Increased tumorigenicity of NEPs after Ptch1 deletion.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Oesterling for flow cytometric analysis; Z. Liu, J. Pei and J. Testa for cytogenetic analysis; A. Efimov for microscopy analysis; Q. Cai for histological analysis; R. Segal (Dana Farber Cancer Institute) for Zic1 antibody; and D. Wiest, F. Roegiers and T. Yen for helpful discussions. This research was supported by the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust (Z.Y.), a generous gift from Cathie and Pete Getchell (Z.Y.), a US National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral training grant (5T32CA009035-37, L.W.Y.), grants from the US National Cancer institute (R01-CA178380, Z.Y.; R01-CA122759, R.J.W.-R.), pilot funding from the US National Institutes of Health (U19-AI067798, R.J.W.-R.) and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (LA1-01747, R.J.W.-R.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Biology Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Peng Li, Fang Du, Larra W Yuelling, Renata E Muradimova, Rossella Tricarico, Alfonso Bellacosa & Zeng-jie Yang

  2. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China

    Peng Li

  3. Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Tiffany Lin & Robert J Wechsler-Reya

  4. Tumor Initiation and Maintenance Program, National Cancer Institute–Designated Cancer Center, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA

    Jun Wang & Robert J Wechsler-Reya

  5. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA

    Grigori Enikolopov

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Contributions

Z.Y. and R.J.W.-R. conceived the project. P.L., F.D., L.W.Y., T.L., R.E.M. and R.T. performed the experiments. Z.Y., P.L., J.W., A.B. and R.J.W.-R. analyzed the data. G.E. provided reagents. Z.Y. prepared the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Robert J Wechsler-Reya or Zeng-jie Yang.

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Integrated supplementary information

Supplementary Figure 1 Nestin expression in the developing cerebellum.

Cerebellar sections from Nestin-CFP animals at various stages were immunostained with indicated antibodies. (a) At E14.5, no CFP+ cells were present in the EGL (arrows) and most CFP+ cells were localized in the ventricular zone (arrowheads). (b) Higher magnification of boxed region in figure a reveals the absence of CFP+ cells in the rhombic lip (arrows). (c) At E16.5, NEPs (CFP+, arrows) were found in the deep part of the EGL and NSCs (Sox2+, arrow heads) in the ventricular zone. (d) Higher magnification of boxed region in figure b shows the localization of NEPs in the EGL (arrows). (e) At P21, only astroglial cells (S100+, arrows) still express CFP. Scale bar: a, c and e (200 μm); b and d (80 μm).

Supplementary Figure 2 Nestin expressing cells in the cerebellar white matter.

(a) Cerebellar slices were prepared from Math1-GFP/Nestin-CFP animals at P4. The white matter was dissected under a fluorescent microscope (as shown by the dotted yellow line). (b) The dissected white matter was collected for cell dissociation. (c) Cells isolated from the white matter of P4 Math1-GFP/Nestin-CFP animals, were analyzed by flow cytometry for expression of GFP and CFP. Approximately 18% of cells in the white matter were positive for Nestin-CFP. (d and e) Nestin-CFP positive cells in the white matter were stained with isotype control (mouse IgG) or anti-Prominin1 prior to FACs analysis. ∼30% of CFP positive cells were Prominin1+, suggesting that Nestin-expressing cells in the cerebellar white matter at P4 include NSCs. Scale bar: a (400μm); b (2mm).

Supplementary Figure 3 Expression of Nestin and Math1 in purified CFP+ and GFP+ cells.

(a-d) Immediately after being isolated from the EGL of Math1-GFP/Nestin-CFP animals at P4, GFP+ cells (a) were stained for Math1 (red, b). Merged image of a and b indicates that all GFP+ cells express Math1 (c). GFP+ cells were also immunostained for Nestin (red, d). No Nestin expression was found among GFP+ cells. (e-g) CFP+ cells (e) from the EGL of Math1-GFP/Nestin-CFP cerebellum at P4 were immunostained for Nestin (red, f). The merged image of e and f shows Nestin expression in all purified CFP+ cells (g). CFP+ cells were immunostained for Math1 (red, h). No Math1+ cells were detected among CFP+ cell population. Scale bar: 200μm.

Supplementary Figure 4 Differentiation of purified NSCs.

NSCs (Prominin1+, Lin- cells) isolated from P4 Nestin-CFP/Math1-GFP cerebellum, were cultured in vitro for 3 days and immunostained for neurons (ß-tubulin+, a), Bergmann glia (S100ß+, b) and oligodendrocytes (O4+, c). Scale bar: 60μm.

Supplementary Figure 5 Fibers of Bergmann glia remaining on cerebellar surface of Nestin-CreERT2–R26R-GFP cerebellum.

Cerebellar sections prepared from Nestin-CreERT2/R26R-GFP mouse at P21 after tamoxifen treatment at P4 were stained for GFP (green, a and b), S100ß (red, a), and counterstained with DAPI (blue, b). GFP+ fibers on the cerebellar surface were positive for S100ß, and negative for DAPI (arrows). Scale bar: 67 μm.

Supplementary Figure 6 DNA instability in proliferating NEPs.

NEPs and GNPs purified from Math1-GFP/Nestin-CFP cerebella at P4, were treated with recombinant Shh in vitro for 48hrs. (a) Proliferating NEPs and GNPs were then harvested to examine the expression of Chek1, Lig3 and Parp1 by quantitative PCR. Expression of all genes in NEPs is normalized to their relative expression in GNPs. (b) PCR products were examined by gel electrophoresis. (c) Percentage of BrdU incorporated GNPs and NEPs among Cre-infected cells. (d) The table summarizes the number of metaphases with chromosomal alterastions in metaphase spread from Ptch1 deficient GNPs and NEPs. More chromosomal abnormalities were detected among NEPs compared with GNPs (Chi-square test, χ2=7.05, P=0.00793, n=50 for GNPs and n=54 for NEPs.) Data in a and c represent means of triplicate experiments ±SEM and significance determined with two-tailed Student's t test <0.001, P<0.01. (a) Chek1 of NEPs vs GNPs, P=0.00085; Lig3 of NEPs vs GNPs, P=0.0171; Parp1 of NEPs vs GNPs, P=0.0106; (b) P=0.837

Supplementary Figure 7 The similar genetic profile of NEP- and GNP-derived tumor cells.

MB cells were isolated from Math1-CreERT2/Ptch1C/C mice and Nestin-CreERT2/Ptch1C/C mice, and total RNAs were extracted from tumor cells for microarray analysis. Genetic profiles of tumor cells were compared with the normal cerebella (downloaded from the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo) with the accession number GSE11859) by PCA.

Supplementary Figure 8 The tumorigenicity of transplanted NEPs and GNPs.

(a) Two different primer sets were designed to analyze Ptch1 genomic DNA. Primer set “a” amplifies part of exon 3, which is deleted in the mutant allele; primer set “b” is specific for exon 14, which is present in both wild type and mutant alleles. (b) After tamoxifen treatment at P4, GNPs and NEPs were purified from the EGL of Math1-GFP/Math1-CreERT2/Ptch1C/C cerebellum and Nestin-CFP/Nestin-CreERT2/Ptch1C/C cerebellum at P8, respectively. GNPs from wild type cerebellum at P8 and tumor cells from Math1-Cre/Ptch1C/C at 8 weeks of age were isolated as controls. Genomic DNA extracted from those cells was used for quantitative PCR using primer sets a and b. (c) The amount of undeleted Ptch1 in each sample was calculated by dividing the level of exon 3 product by the total amount of Ptch1 DNA (represented by exon 14 product). (d) The table shows the number of animals with tumors from the different amount of cells following the transplantation. Data in c represent means of triplicate experiments ± SEM. and significance determined with two-tailed Student's t test. (Ptch1 deletion among NEPs vs GNPs, P=0.486).

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Li, P., Du, F., Yuelling, L. et al. A population of Nestin-expressing progenitors in the cerebellum exhibits increased tumorigenicity. Nat Neurosci 16, 1737–1744 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3553

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