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Fluorescence-Activated Nuclei Negative Sorting of Neurons Combined with Single Nuclei RNA Sequencing to Study the Hippocampal Neurogenic Niche

Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis (AHN), which consists of a lifelong maintenance of proliferative and quiescent neural stem cells (NSCs) within the ...

The Francis Crick Institute

Despite the central role of Rho GTPases in neuronal development, their functions in adult hippocampal neurogenesis remain poorly explored. Here, by using a retrovirus-based loss-of-function approach in vivo, we show that the atypical Rho GTPase Rnd2 is crucial for survival, positioning, somatodendritic morphogenesis, and functional maturation of adult-born dentate granule neurons. Interestingly, most of these functions are specific to granule neurons generated during adulthood since the deletion of Rnd2 in neonatally-born granule neurons only affects dendritogenesis. In addition, suppression of Rnd2 in adult-born dentate granule neurons increases anxiety-like behavior whereas its deletion in pups has no such effect, a finding supporting the adult neurogenesis hypothesis of anxiety disorders. Thus, our results are in line with the view that adult neurogenesis is not a simple continuation of earlier processes from development, and establish a causal relationship between Rnd2 expression and anxiety.

Thomas Kerloch

The Francis Crick Institute

Fluorescence-Activated Nuclei Negative Sorting of Neurons Combined with Single Nuclei RNA Sequencing to Study the Hippocampal Neurogenic Niche