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Radial Glial Cells: New Views on Old Questions

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Abstract

Radial glial cells (RGC) are at the center of brain development in vertebrates, acting as progenitors for neurons and macroglia (oligodendrocytes and astrocytes) and as guides for migration of neurons from the ventricular surface to their final positions in the brain. These cells originate from neuroepithelial cells (NEC) from which they inherit their epithelial features and polarized morphology, with processes extending from the ventricular to the pial surface of the embryonic cerebrum. We have learnt a great deal since the first descriptions of these cells at the end of the nineteenth century. However, there are still questions regarding how and when NEC transform into RGC or about the function of intermediate filaments such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in RGCs and their dynamics during neurogenesis. For example, it is not clear why RGCs in primates, including humans, express GFAP at the onset of cortical neurogenesis while in rodents it is expressed when it is essentially complete. Based on an ultrastructural analysis of GFAP expression and cell morphology of dividing progenitors in the developing neocortex of the macaque monkey, we show that RGCs become the main progenitor in the developing cerebrum by the start of neurogenesis, as all dividing cells show glial features such as GFAP expression and lack of tight junctions. Also, our data suggest that RGCs retract their apical process during mitosis. We discuss our findings in the context of the role and molecular characteristics of RGCs in the vertebrate brain, their differences with NECs and their dynamic behavior during the process of neurogenesis.

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Acknowledgements

This work supported in part by the National Institutes of Health NIDA grant DA023999. We thank Dr. Alvaro Duque, Yale Department of Neuroscience and MacBrainResource which is supported by MH113257 to Alvaro Duque at Yale Medical School.

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  1. Jon I. Arellano and Yury M. Morozov have contributed equal.

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  1. Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine and Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    Jon I. Arellano, Yury M. Morozov, Nicola Micali & Pasko Rakic

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Contributions

YMM designed and perform experiments. JIA, NM and YM analyzed and interpreted the data. JIA and PR wrote the manuscript. All authors discussed the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Pasko Rakic.

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Experiments were performed with approval from the ethics committee and IACUC at Yale University.

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Arellano, J.I., Morozov, Y.M., Micali, N. et al. Radial Glial Cells: New Views on Old Questions. Neurochem Res 46, 2512–2524 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-021-03296-z

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