Single cell sequencing of the hippocampal niche

Adult neurogenesis in the murine dentate gyrus occurs in a specialized microenvironment that sustains the generation of neurons during life. To fully understand adult neurogenesis, it is essential to determine the neural stem cell (NSC) and progenitor developmental stages, their molecular determinants, and the niche cellular and molecular composition. We report on a single cell RNA sequencing study of the hippocampal niche, performed by isolating all the non-neuronal cell populations. Our analysis provides a comprehensive description of the dentate gyrus cells and allows the identification of exclusive cell type-specific markers. We define the developmental stages and transcriptional dynamics of NSCs and progenitors, and find that while NSCs represent a heterogeneous cellular continuum, progenitors can be grouped in distinct subtypes. We determine the oligodendrocyte lineage and transcriptional dynamics, and describe microglia transcriptional profile and activation state. The combined data constitutes a valuable resource to understand regulatory mechanisms of adult neurogenesis. Overall design: We generated transciptome data from cells unbiasely sorted from the hippocampal neurogenic niche after depleting the neuronal population

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Artegiani B, Lyubimova A, Muraro M, van Es JH, van Oudenaarden A, Clevers H