Abstract: |
In the adult ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ), neural stem cells (NSCs) generate new olfactory bulb (OB) neurons and glia throughout life. To map adult neuronal lineage progression, we profiled >56,000 V-SVZ and OB cells by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). Our analyses reveal the molecular diversity of OB neurons, including fate-mapped neurons, lineage progression dynamics, and an NSC intermediate enriched for Notum, which encodes a secreted WNT antagonist. SCOPE-seq technology, which links live-cell imaging with scRNA-seq, uncovers cell-size transitions during NSC differentiation and preferential NOTUM binding to proliferating neuronal precursors. Consistently, application of NOTUM protein in slice cultures and pharmacological inhibition of NOTUM in slice cultures and in vivo demonstrated that NOTUM negatively regulates V-SVZ proliferation. Timely, context-dependent neurogenesis demands adaptive signaling among neighboring progenitors. Our findings highlight a critical regulatory state during NSC activation marked by NOTUM, which attenuates WNT-stimulated proliferation in NSC progeny. © 2020 The Author(s) Mizrak et al. combine single-cell RNA-seq, SCOPE-seq, and genetic fate mapping to study adult olfactory bulb neurogenesis from the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ). They reveal the key molecular and cellular changes during neuronal lineage differentiation and highlight an activating NSC intermediate marked by Notum, an extracellular signal that controls V-SVZ proliferation. © 2020 The Author(s) |