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Wnts Are Expressed in the Ependymal Region of the Adult Spinal Cord

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Abstract

The Wnt family of proteins plays key roles during central nervous system development and in several physiological processes during adulthood. Recently, experimental evidence has linked Wnt-related genes to regulation and maintenance of stem cells in the adult neurogenic niches. In the spinal cord, the ependymal cells surrounding the central canal form one of those niches, but little is known about their Wnt expression patterns. Using microdissection followed by TaqMan® low-density arrays, we show here that the ependymal regions of young, mature rats and adult humans express several Wnt-related genes, including ligands, conventional and non-conventional receptors, co-receptors, and soluble inhibitors. We found 13 genes shared between rats and humans, 4 exclusively expressed in rats and 9 expressed only in humans. Also, we observed a reduction with age on spontaneous proliferation of ependymal cells in rats paralleled by a decrease in the expression of Fzd1, Fzd8, and Fzd9. Our results suggest a role for Wnts in the regulation of the adult spinal cord neurogenic niche and provide new data on the specific differences in this region between humans and rodents.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Concepción Sanchez-Caro and Uyen Le for technical help. We also thank Dr. Pau Gonzalez for his expert technical support. This work was funded by Wings For Life Foundation (Salzburg, Austria) and Fundacion Mutua Madrileña (Madrid, Spain) and by grants obtained from the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS) (Grant PI12-2895, co-funded by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional [FEDER]). Laboratory of Neuroinflammation is also supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain).

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  1. Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Hospital Nacional de Paraplejicos (SESCAM), Finca La Peraleda s/n, 45071, Toledo, Spain

    Carlos Gonzalez-Fernandez & Francisco J. Rodriguez

  2. Laboratory of Neuroinflammation, Hospital Nacional de Paraplejicos (SESCAM), Finca La Peraleda s/n, 45071, Toledo, Spain

    Angel Arevalo-Martin, Beatriz Paniagua-Torija & Daniel Garcia-Ovejero

  3. Institut de Neuropatologia, Serveid’AnatomiaPatològica, IDIBELL-Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Universitat de Barcelona, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain

    Isidro Ferrer

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  1. Carlos Gonzalez-Fernandez
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  4. Isidro Ferrer
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  6. Daniel Garcia-Ovejero
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Correspondence to Francisco J. Rodriguez or Daniel Garcia-Ovejero.

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Animals were handled in accordance with the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Neuroscience Research published by the Society for Neuroscience and the European Union guidelines (Council Directive 2010/63/UE). Experimental procedures were approved by our Local Ethical Committee for Animal Research (CEEA).

Donation always included a written informed consent from donors while alive or from their families after death. Data from donors and handling of samples were carried out after approval by the Clinical Research Ethical Committee (CEIC) in Toledo (Spain), in accordance with the Spanish law and International Guidelines (LOPD 15/1999; RD 1720/2007; Helsinki Declaration, 2008).

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Gonzalez-Fernandez, C., Arevalo-Martin, A., Paniagua-Torija, B. et al. Wnts Are Expressed in the Ependymal Region of the Adult Spinal Cord. Mol Neurobiol 54, 6342–6355 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-016-0132-8

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