PUBLICATION

Identification of astroglia-like cardiac nexus glia that are critical regulators of cardiac development and function

Authors
Kikel-Coury, N.L., Brandt, J.P., Correia, I.A., O'Dea, M.R., DeSantis, D.F., Sterling, F., Vaughan, K., Ozcebe, G., Zorlutuna, P., Smith, C.J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-211119-7
Date
2021
Source
PLoS Biology   19: e3001444 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Smith, Cody
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Astrocytes/cytology*
  • Astrocytes/metabolism
  • Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/metabolism
  • Heart/embryology*
  • Heart/physiology
  • Heart Rate/physiology
  • Heart Ventricles/metabolism
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism
  • Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism
  • Neural Crest/metabolism
  • Neuroglia/cytology*
  • Neuroglia/metabolism
  • Neurons/metabolism
  • Parasympathetic Nervous System/physiology
  • Signal Transduction
  • Species Specificity
  • Sympathetic Nervous System/physiology
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
34793438 Full text @ PLoS Biol.
Abstract
Glial cells are essential for functionality of the nervous system. Growing evidence underscores the importance of astrocytes; however, analogous astroglia in peripheral organs are poorly understood. Using confocal time-lapse imaging, fate mapping, and mutant genesis in a zebrafish model, we identify a neural crest-derived glial cell, termed nexus glia, which utilizes Meteorin signaling via Jak/Stat3 to drive differentiation and regulate heart rate and rhythm. Nexus glia are labeled with gfap, glast, and glutamine synthetase, markers that typically denote astroglia cells. Further, analysis of single-cell sequencing datasets of human and murine hearts across ages reveals astrocyte-like cells, which we confirm through a multispecies approach. We show that cardiac nexus glia at the outflow tract are critical regulators of both the sympathetic and parasympathetic system. These data establish the crucial role of glia on cardiac homeostasis and provide a description of nexus glia in the PNS.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping