Directing Astroglia from the Cerebral Cortex into Subtype Specific Functional Neurons
Figure 9
Co-expression of Mash1 and Dlx2 promotes neurogenesis and maturation following reprogramming.
(A–A') Fluorescence micrographs depict two cells double-positive for GFP (A) and DsRed (A') indicating co-expression of Mash1 (Mash1-IRES-GFP) and Dlx2 (Dlx2-IRES-DsRed), respectively. (A”) Depolarizing current injection into the neuron marked by the asterisk in (A) and (A') revealed a firing pattern classified as stuttering. (B) The histogram shows the percentage of βIII tubulin-positive neurons amongst all single or co-transduced astroglial cells. Note the significant enhancement of neurogenesis following co-expression of Mash1 and Dlx2. (C) The graph plots the input resistance values over time (MΩ) of astroglia-derived neurons reprogrammed by Dlx2 alone or Mash1 and Dlx2 in combination. Note that the co-expressing cells exhibit lower input resistances suggestive of a faster pace of maturation.