Taito Matsuda

Pathological conditions such as epilepsy cause misregulation of adult neural stem/progenitor populations in the adult hippocampus in mice, and the resulting abnormal neurogenesis leads to impairment in learning and memory. However, how animals cope with abnormal neurogenesis remains unknown. Here we show that microglia in the mouse hippocampus attenuate convulsive seizure-mediated aberrant neurogenesis through the activation of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), an innate immune sensor known to recogn

Tissue-specific stem cells give rise to new functional cells to maintain tissue homeostasis and restore damaged tissue after injury. To ensure proper brain functions in the adult brain, neural stem cells (NSCs) continuously generate newborn neurons that integrate into pre-existing neuronal networks. Proliferation, as well as neurogenesis of NSCs, are exquisitely controlled by extrinsic and intrinsic factors, and their underlying mechanisms have been extensively studied with the goal of enhancing

HMGB2 expression is strongly associated with transition from the quiescent to the proliferative state of NSCs, supporting the possibility that HMGB2 is involved in the regulation of adult neurogenesis and can be used as a novel marker to identify NSCs primed for activation in the adult hippocampus. Developmental Dynamics 247:229-238, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Linkage between early-life exposure to anesthesia and subsequent learning disabilities is of great concern to children and their families. Here we show that early-life exposure to midazolam (MDZ), a widely used drug in pediatric anesthesia, persistently alters chromatin accessibility and the expression of quiescence-associated genes in neural stem cells (NSCs) in the mouse hippocampus. The alterations led to a sustained restriction of NSC proliferation toward adulthood, resulting in a reduction

Neuronal regeneration to replenish lost neurons after injury is critical for brain repair. Microglia, brain-resident macrophages that have the propensity to accumulate at the site of injury, can be a potential source for replenishing lost neurons through fate conversion into neurons, induced by forced expression of neuronal lineage-specific transcription factors. However, it has not been strictly demonstrated that microglia, rather than central nervous system-associated macrophages, such as meni

Although lineage reprogramming from one cell type to another is becoming a breakthrough technology for cell-based therapy, several limitations remain to be overcome, including the low conversion efficiency and subtype specificity. To address these, many studies have been conducted using genetics, chemistry, physics, and cell biology to control transcriptional networks, signaling cascades, and epigenetic modifications during reprogramming. Here, we summarize recent advances in cellular reprogramm

Abstract Ischaemic brain injury causes permanent neuronal loss, which often results in persistent severe neurological dysfunctions. Although generating new neurons in the injured brain would be an ideal approach to replenish the lost neurons for repairing the damage, the adult mammalian brain retains only limited neurogenic capability. Here, we show that direct conversion of microglia/macrophages into neurons in the brain has great potential as a therapeutic strategy for ischaemic brain injury.

Summary Several transcription factors, including NeuroD1, have been shown to act as neuronal reprogramming factors (RFs) that induce neuronal conversion from somatic cells. However, it remains unexplored whether expression levels of RFs in the original cells affect reprogramming efficiency. Here, we show that the neuronal reprogramming efficiency from two distinct glial cell types, microglia and astrocytes, is substantially dependent on the expression level of NeuroD1: low expression failed to i

Neural stem cells (NSCs) in the mammalian brain decline rapidly with age, leading to impairment of hippocampal memory function in later life. However, the relationship between epigenetic remodeling and transcriptional regulation that compromises hippocampal NSC activity during the early stage of chronological aging remains unclear. Here, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and single-cell ATAC sequencing (scATAC-seq) on NSCs and newly generated neurons across different stages. In

In vivo direct neuronal conversion as a therapeutic strategy for ischemic strokeStroke causes neuronal loss, which ultimately results in persistent neurological dysfunction.Globally, stroke was the third-leading cause of death and disability combined in all ages in 2019, after neonatal disorders and ischemic heart disease.In that year, there were 12.2 million incident strokes, 101 million prevalent strokes, and 143 million disability-adjusted life-years due to stroke.Ischemic stroke constituted

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are the source of all neurons and glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes) in the central nervous system. The adult mammalian brain retains NSCs in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus and ventricular subventricular zone lining the lateral ventricle (Olpe and Jessberger, 2022). Adult NSCs in rodents are preserved throughout life and continuously produce new neurons that integrate into the pre-existing neuronal network. However, whether adult

A population of proliferating neural stem/progenitor cells located in the subgranular zone of the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) gives rise to new neurons continuously throughout life, and this process is referred to as adult hippocampal neurogenesis. To date, it has generally been accepted that impairments of adult hippocampal neurogenesis resulting from pathological conditions such as stress, ischemia and epilepsy lead to deficits in hippocampus-dependent learning and memory tasks. Recen