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Development of astrocytes vs motoneurons
How do two types of cellular development, stochastic and stereotypic, coordinate to build a functional system?
The glial cells play many functions in the central nervous system (CNS) such as establishment of synapses or maintenance of neuronal activity. Astrocytes are a particular type of Glia that send processes deep into the neuropil, in close contact with synapses. Astrocytes are important for the function, homeostasis, development, and modulation of neuron synapses. Despites the importance of astrocytes in the CNS function and development, they remain poorly studied compared to neuron development. Strikingly, leg motoneurons and astrocytes use different modes of development even though they are derived from the same stem cells. Whereas motoneurons both display a stereotyped birth order and a TF code controlling their morphologies, the number and the individual morphologies of astrocytes born from these stem cells are highly plastic. The molecular basis of astrocyte plasticity is unknown. How do two types of cellular development, stochastic and stereotypic, coordinate to build a functional system?
Our Goal is to understand the developmental logic of astrocyte development by using powerful genetic toll such as tha MARCM, MARCMbow or the cisMARCM techniques.