Venue : CARF
Hwai-Jong Chen
Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica
Taipei, Taiwan
Invited by Emilie Pacary (Magendie)
Title
Integration of progenitor cells from adult brain into mature hippocampal circuits
Abstract
In adult mammalian hippocampus, neurogenesis is prominent in the subgranular zone of dentate gyrus (DG). These adult-born neurons are functionally integrated into the existing mature hippocampal circuitry. Abnormalities in adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) are implicated in neurological disorders related to learning, memory, and emotion. AHN is less efficient with aging. Our lab has been studying how aging processes change AHN in mice (1). We developed an efficient method to culture neurospheres from adult and aged neural progenitors in DG, and keep them as adult hippocampal neural progenitor cells (AHNPCs) (2). Single cell RNA (sc-RNA) sequencing analysis was performed on AHNPCs to identify intrinsic factors that might regulate aging changes of these progenitor cells. We transplanted AHNPCs into mouse DG in vivo to explore how these ectopic cells differentiate and integrate in the mature hippocampus. Spatial transcriptomic analysis was used to demonstrate transplanted AHNPCs exhibit same expression profile as neighboring endogenous granule cells. Our ultimate goal is to investigate whether the cultured AHNPCs can be utilized for treating neurological disorders.
(1) Murray, K.D., Liu, X.-B., King, A.N., Luu, J. and Cheng, H.-J.. Age-related changes in synaptic plasticity associated with mossy fiber terminal integration during adult neurogenesis. eNeuro 7(3):ENEURO.0030-20 (2020)
(2) Vafaeva, O., Namchaiw, P., Murray, K., Diaz, E., and Cheng, H.-J.. Protocol for culturing neurospheres from progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus of aged mouse hippocampus. STAR Protoc. 6(1): 103692 (2025).
Biosketch
Dr. Hwai-Jong Cheng’s research interest is to understand the formation of neural connectivity during development and in diseases. He has broad background in molecular and cellular neurobiology and has contributed to identify mechanisms regulating neural topographic connections, axonal pruning, and adult neurogenesis. His research group has been utilizing various techniques, including mouse and C. elegans genetics, imaging, in vivo transplantation, electron microscopic analysis, and electrophysiological study, to tackle these questions. Currently, his research focuses on how the adult-born neurons are functionally integrated into pre-existing mature neural circuitry.