Abstract
The pons controls crucial sensorimotor and autonomic functions. In humans, it grows sixfold postnatally and is a site of paediatric gliomas; however, the mechanisms of pontine growth remain poorly understood. We show that the murine pons quadruples in volume postnatally; growth is fastest during postnatal days 0–4 (P0–P4), preceding most myelination. We identify three postnatal proliferative compartments: ventricular, midline and parenchymal. We find no evidence of postnatal neurogenesis in the pons, but each progenitor compartment produces new astroglia and oligodendroglia; the latter expand 10- to 18-fold postnatally, and are derived mostly from the parenchyma. Nearly all parenchymal progenitors at P4 are Sox2+Olig2+, but by P8 a Sox2− subpopulation emerges, suggesting a lineage progression from Sox2+ ‘early' to Sox2− ‘late' oligodendrocyte progenitor. Fate mapping reveals that >90% of adult oligodendrocytes derive from P2–P3 Sox2+ progenitors. These results demonstrate the importance of postnatal Sox2+Olig2+ progenitors in pontine growth and oligodendrogenesis.
Highlights
The pons controls crucial sensorimotor and autonomic functions
The daily per cent increase in volume was greatest during P0–P4, and was greater in basis pontis than tegmentum during that period, with basis pontis growing at an average rate of 16% daily (Fig. 1f)
We found that postnatal tamoxifen treatment at P2–3 or P10 in Gli1CreER;Ai14 mice[45] yielded no TdTomato þ (TdT þ) Olig[2] þ adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) þ OLs in adult pons, but sparse TdT þ astrocytes positive for S100b and/or glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) (Supplementary Fig. 10)
Summary
The pons controls crucial sensorimotor and autonomic functions In humans, it grows sixfold postnatally and is a site of paediatric gliomas; the mechanisms of pontine growth remain poorly understood. Fate mapping reveals that 490% of adult oligodendrocytes derive from P2–P3 Sox[2] þ progenitors These results demonstrate the importance of postnatal Sox[2] þ Olig[2] þ progenitors in pontine growth and oligodendrogenesis. The ventral pons (basis pontis) contributes to motor function, in part as a ‘bridge’ between cortex and cerebellum: neurons in the pontine grey nuclei receive synapses from cortex and project to cerebellum via the middle cerebellar peduncle[10]. Postnatal Sox[2] þ progenitor cells produce more than 90% of adult mouse pons oligodendrocytes, contributing to a 10- to 18-fold postnatal expansion of the oligodendroglial lineage
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