Link to HAL – pasteur-04030245
Link to DOI – 10.1101/2022.12.26.521937
2023
The maintenance of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the adult brain depends on their activation frequency and division mode. We use long-term intravital imaging of NSCs in the zebrafish adult telencephalon to link activation and division mode with predictive cellular and molecular parameters. We reveal that apical surface area and expression of the Notch ligand DeltaA predict NSC activation frequency, while deltaA expression marks NSC commitment to neurogenesis. We also find that deltaA -negative NSCs constitute the bona fide self-renewing NSC pool and systematically engage in asymmetric divisions generating a self-renewing deltaA neg and a neurogenic deltaA pos NSC. Finally, modulation of Notch signaling during imaging indicates that the prediction of activation frequency by apical size, and the asymmetric divisions of deltaA neg NSCs, are functionally independent of Notch. These results provide dynamic qualitative and quantitative readouts of NSC lineage progression in vivo and support a hierarchical organization of NSCs in differently fated sub-populations.