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Immunoablation of cells expressing the NG2 chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan
Leoni, G. Rattray, Marcus Fulton, D. Rivera, A. Butt, A.M.
Leoni, G.
Rattray, Marcus
Fulton, D.
Rivera, A.
Butt, A.M.
Publication Date
2014-02
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© 2014 The Authors. Published Open Access by Wiley. Reproduced in
accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
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Abstract
Expression of the transmembrane NG2 chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (CSPG) defines a distinct population
of NG2-glia. NG2-glia serve as a regenerative pool of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in the adult central
nervous system (CNS), which is important for demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and are a major
component of the glial scar that inhibits axon regeneration after CNS injury. In addition, NG2-glia form unique
neuron–glial synapses with unresolved functions. However, to date it has proven difficult to study the
importance of NG2-glia in any of these functions using conventional transgenic NG2 ‘knockout’ mice. To
overcome this, we aimed to determine whether NG2-glia can be targeted using an immunotoxin approach. We
demonstrate that incubation in primary anti-NG2 antibody in combination with secondary saporin-conjugated
antibody selectively kills NG2-expressing cells in vitro. In addition, we provide evidence that the same protocol
induces the loss of NG2-glia without affecting astrocyte or neuronal numbers in cerebellar brain slices from
postnatal mice. This study shows that targeting the NG2 CSPG with immunotoxins is an effective and selective
means for killing NG2-glia, which has important implications for studying the functions of these enigmatic cells
both in the normal CNS, and in demyelination and degeneration.
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Published version
Citation
Leoni G, Rattray M, Fulton D et al (2014) Immunoablation of cells expressing the NG2 chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan. Journal of Anatomy. 224(4): 216-227.