Tong Xiaoping's research team at Nature Communications School of Basic Medicine leads the reveal of NG2 glial cells...

NG2 glial cells, also known as oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), have the ability to differentiate into mature oligodendrocytes, and play an important role in the myelination process of early brain development

On September 30, 2021, Tong Xiaoping's research team from Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine published online in Nature Communications the latest research results titled NG2 glia-derived GABA release tunes inhibitory synapses and contributes to stress-induced anxiety

The study found that NG2 glial cells in the mouse hippocampus can specifically regulate the inhibitory synaptic afferents of adjacent interneurons, and the double-labeled immunoelectron microscopy technique was used to report for the first time that NG2 glial cells act as presynaptic and neuronal cells.

In terms of physiological and pathological functions, the study found that the activity frequency of NG2 glial cells in the hippocampus in anxious mice was significantly increased, which was manifested by a significant increase in calcium activity

This study reveals the neural mechanism of the interaction between NG2 glial cells and neurons and the importance of maintaining the normal function of the neural network from multiple dimensions such as molecular, cellular, neural microcircuit and in vivo behavioral analysis.

Researcher Tong Xiaoping, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Jiaotong University, is the corresponding author of this article.

Figure 1 The mechanism of NG2 glial cells involved in the regulation of inhibitory synapses in the hippocampus