Progenitor cell heterogeneity in the developing retina is revealed through distinct requirements for LHX2 in the regulation of competence and proliferation

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Title Progenitor cell heterogeneity in the developing retina is revealed through distinct requirements for LHX2 in the regulation of competence and proliferation
Publication Type dissertation
School or College School of Medicine
Department Neurology
Author Gordon, Patrick James
Date 2015-05
Description During development, all seven of the major retinal cell types are produced in a distinct yet overlapping order from a single pool of multipotent retinal progenitor cells (RPCs). In order to accomplish this task, it is thought that each individual RPC proceeds irreversibly through a series of intrinsically defined competence states, capable of producing only a subset of these cell types at any given time. To ensure that all early- and late-born cell types are produced in the correct number, RPCs must not only proceed through these competence states in a timely fashion, but also limit their rate of differentiation in order to prevent premature depletion. Lhx2 is a LIM-homeobox transcription factor expressed in many different tissues during development, known to regulate both proliferation and fate choice. It is also expressed in most if not all RPCs, and we assessed its contribution to their various properties by performing conditional inactivation at multiple time points during retinal neurogenesis. We find that Lhx2 is required within a limited temporal window to ensure the balanced production of earlyborn cell types, as retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are selectively overproduced in the Lhx2 conditional knock-out (CKO) retina. LHX2 is also necessary for the normal cessation of RGC genesis, suggesting that in its absence, RPCs fail to undergo a normal transition in competence. We show that sustained Notch signaling, dependent on the transcription factor Rbpj, is likely responsible for maintaining a low level of both proliferation and neurogenesis in the absence of Lhx2, based on their successive requirements at distinct stages in the lineage progression of RPCs. We find further that LHX2 is required for the iv normal response of RPCs to Sonic Hedgehog (SHH), a negative-feedback signal secreted by RGCs and known to limit their further generation. In addition, we show that both LHX2 and SHH promote the expression of Ascl1, a gene expressed in RPCs and implicated as molecular readout of competence progression. Together, the results presented here demonstrate how intrinsic factors such as LHX2 may perform distinct functions at distinct phases of RPC lineage progression to orchestrate the process of retinal neurogenesis.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject MESH Stem Cells; Neurogenesis; Optic Tract; Retina; Retinal Ganglion Cells; LIM-Homeodomain Proteins; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Retinal Photoreceptor Cell Inner Segment; Receptors, Notch; Patched Receptors; Transcription Factors; Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Signal Transduction
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Doctor of Philosophy
Language eng
Relation is Version of Digital reproduction of Progenitor Cell Heterogeneity in the Developing Retina Is Revealed Through Distinct Requirements for LHX2 in the Regulation of Competence and Proliferation
Rights Management Copyright © Patrick James Gordon 2015
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 62,348,396 bytes
Source Original in Marriott Library Special Collections
ARK ark:/87278/s6rv547n
Setname ir_etd
ID 1426430
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6rv547n
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