During vertebrate development, pMN progenitors in the ventral spinal cord sequentially give rise to motor neurons and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs); OPCs in turn either differentiate or persist into adulthood. While Shh signalling is known to play an important role in pMN development, how it translates into altered cell fates is still incompletely understood. Now, Kayt Scott, a graduate student in Bruce Appel's lab, and her colleagues investigate the role of the transcriptional co-regulator Prdm8 in the zebrafish spinal cord. They first show that, as in the mouse, prdm8 is expressed in the pMN domain. Single cell sequencing indicates that prdm8 is expressed both by presumptive pMN progenitors and presumptive OPCs; prdm8 mRNA is progressively restricted to the OPC lineage over time and then downregulated as oligodendrocytes differentiate (it remains high in OPCs). prdm8 mutants display an excess of oligodendrocytes at the expense of OPCs, and also have fewer motor neurons due to pMN progenitors prematurely switching from producing motor neurons to OPCs (as shown by precocious expansion of nkx2.2a expression). prdm8 mutants have elevated levels of Shh signalling, independent of ligand expression, and finally, inhibition of Shh signalling rescues the deficit of motor neurons in prdm8 mutants, but cannot rescue the excess of oligodendrocytes. Thus, Prdm8 dampens Shh signalling in pMN progenitors to regulate the neural/glia switch, and also suppresses OPC differentiation.
Cell fate in the spinal cord: Prdm8 says ‘shh’ to Shh
Cell fate in the spinal cord: Prdm8 says ‘shh’ to Shh. Development 15 August 2020; 147 (16): e1603. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
Development presents... live stream of our Journal Meeting

Watch a session from Development’s Journal Meeting, Unconventional and Emerging Experimental Organisms in Cell and Developmental Biology which was live on the Node Monday 18 September.
Navigating a research career with a disability

Our two recent Perspectives articles explore the lived experiences of disabled scientists in our community. Kelsey L. Anbuhl and colleagues describe the lived experiences of five biologists who share the challenges and successes of undertaking a scientific career with a disability. Whereas Jack Darius Morgan reviews the literature exploring disabled scientists’ experiences in academia.
Focus on regeneration

Tissue regeneration is a fascinating phenomenon, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying regeneration remain incompletely understood. Here, Development has collated a series of articles showcasing some of the most recent advances in regenerative biology.
Keeping up with the Node: Lab meetings

Keep up with the Node 'Lab meeting' posts as the platform regularly highlights development and stem cell biology labs from across the globe and showcases research and researchers from the community. September featured the Kerosuo lab at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, read their 'Lab meeting' article here.
Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say

We have had great feedback from authors who have benefitted from our Read & Publish agreement with their institution and have been able to publish Open Access with us without paying an APC. Read what they had to say.