Caudal Ganglionic Eminence Precursor Transplants Disperse and Integrate as Lineage-Specific Interneurons but Do Not Induce Cortical Plasticity

Cell Rep. 2016 Aug 2;16(5):1391-1404. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.06.071. Epub 2016 Jul 14.

Abstract

The maturation of inhibitory GABAergic cortical circuits regulates experience-dependent plasticity. We recently showed that the heterochronic transplantation of parvalbumin (PV) or somatostatin (SST) interneurons from the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) reactivates ocular dominance plasticity (ODP) in the postnatal mouse visual cortex. Might other types of interneurons similarly induce cortical plasticity? Here, we establish that caudal ganglionic eminence (CGE)-derived interneurons, when transplanted into the visual cortex of neonatal mice, migrate extensively in the host brain and acquire laminar distribution, marker expression, electrophysiological properties, and visual response properties like those of host CGE interneurons. Although transplants from the anatomical CGE do induce ODP, we found that this plasticity reactivation is mediated by a small fraction of MGE-derived cells contained in the transplant. These findings demonstrate that transplanted CGE cells can successfully engraft into the postnatal mouse brain and confirm the unique role of MGE lineage neurons in the induction of ODP.

Keywords: VIP interneuron; caudal ganglionic eminence; critical period; medial ganglionic eminence; ocular dominance plasticity.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Movement / physiology
  • Cerebral Cortex / metabolism*
  • Cerebral Cortex / physiology
  • GABAergic Neurons / metabolism*
  • GABAergic Neurons / physiology
  • Ganglion Cysts / metabolism*
  • Interneurons / metabolism*
  • Interneurons / physiology
  • Median Eminence / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Neuronal Plasticity / physiology*
  • Parvalbumins / metabolism
  • Somatostatin / metabolism
  • Visual Cortex / metabolism
  • Visual Cortex / physiology

Substances

  • Parvalbumins
  • Somatostatin