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Fig. 1. Cellular response to injury in Regenerative Stage. a Cartoon of spinal cord injury in NF stage 50. b, c Semithin sections of the b rostral and c caudal stumps at 2âdays post transection (dpt) stained with methylene blue. Arrowheads in panel C showed macrophages. d-i; k-m; o-s; u, v Correspond to ultrathin sections observed by transmission electron microscopy. d-i Different regions of the spinal cord at 2 dpt; d cells lining the central canal (cc) closing the rostral stump (black arrowhead); e mitochondrial swelling (black arrow) observed in cells from panel D; black arrowheads depict the separation between two cells; f, g mitotic clusters of cells (yellow shadow); h cell undergoing extrusion (purple shadow); i macrophage from panel C from the injured site. j Semithin section at 6 dpt. k-m Different regions of the spinal cord at 6 dpt; k cells in the central canal of the caudal stump (green shadow), without contact with ependymal cells (black arrowheads); l synaptic density (black arrowheads) and synaptic vesicles (white arrowheads); m cells forming a rosette structure in the ablation gap (red shadow). n Semithin section at 10 dpt. o-s Different regions of the spinal cord at 10 dpt; o a bundle of unmyelinated axons surrounded by ependymal cells (black arrowheads); p unmyelinated axon (orange shadow), and synaptic vesicles (white arrowheads); q desmosome junction (black arrowhead) between ependymal cells next to unmyelinated axons; r a myelinated axon (white arrowhead) in the cc of the caudal stump; s neuronal nuclei in the cc of the caudal stump (black arrowhead). t Semithin section at 20 dpt. u-w Different regions of the spinal cord at 20 dpt; u cells in the cc (red line); v ependymal cells with regular shape in the regenerated spinal cord with apical mitochondria (m); w desmosome junctions between the regenerated ependymal cells (black arrowheads). The red dotted lines indicate the injured site (a, b, c, j, n, t)
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Fig. 2. Cellular response to injury in Non-Regenerative Stage. a Cartoon depicting the process of spinal cord injury in NF stage 66. b Semithin section at 2 dpt. c, d; f-g; i-l; n-p Correspond to ultrathin sections observed by transmission electron microscopy. c, d Different regions of the spinal cord at 2 dpt; c central canal (cc) next to the injured site (black arrowheads); d extracellular matrix and red blood cells (red shadow) in the injury site. e Semithin section at 6 dpt. f, g Different regions of the spinal cord at 6 dpt; f ependymal cells in the rostral stump (black arrowheads); g macrophage (blue line) engulfing red blood cells (red shadow) in the cc. h Semithin section of the caudal stump at 10 dpt. i-l Different regions of the spinal cord at 10 dpt; i ependymal cells near to the injured site; j mitochondria (white arrowhead) in the apical surface of ependymal cell (blue line) in contact with the cc; k glial cell processes next to the injured site (white arrowheads); l intermediate filaments (white arrowheads) in the glial process (green line). m Semithin section at 20 dpt. n-p Different regions of the spinal cord at 20 dpt; n ablation gap (red lines) filled with fibroblast-like cell (white arrowhead), and surrounded by extracellular matrix; o microglial-like cell (cyan line) with abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum (white arrowheads); p abundant Collagen (col) fibers (dots) in the injured site. The red dotted lines indicate the injured site (a, b, e, h, m)
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Fig. 3. Glial cell and extracellular matrix response to spinal cord injury in R-Stage and NR-Stage. a-c Immunostaining against vimentin in a uninjured, and at b 2 and c 6 dpt from animals at NF stage 50. d Western blot against Vimentin (Vim) and GAPDH of spinal cords samples obtained from uninjured (ui), and at 2, 6, 10 and 20 dpt in animals at NF stage 50. e-g Immunostaining against Vimentin in uninjured (e-eâ), and at (f, fâ) 10 and (g-gâ) 20 dpt from animals at NF stage 66. h Western blot against Vim and GAPDH of spinal cords samples obtained from uninjured (ui), and at 2, 6, 10 and 20 dpt in animals at NF stage 66. i-o Immunofluorescence against fibronectin in i uninjured, j 6 dpt, and k 10 dpt in NF stage 50; and l uninjured, m 10 dpt, and n 30 dpt in animals at NF stage 66. o-p Immunofluorescence against CSPG in o uninjured, and p-pâ at 40 dpt in NF stage 66. q-v AFOG staining shown Collagen (blue), cells (orange) and Fibrin (red) in q uninjured, and at r 6 and s 10 dpt in animals at NF stage 50, and in t-tâ uninjured, and at u-uâ 10 and v-vâ 20 dpt from animals at NF stage 66. w Analysis of gene expression change upon spinal cord injury comparing injured animals (Ts) with control sham (sham) surgery at 1, 2 and 6âdays after injury in NF stage 50 (1R, 2R and 6R), and NF stage 66 (1NR, 2 NR and 6 NR). Colored and crosses scale indicates the level of increase upon injury in green (+, ++, +++) and decrease in red (â, ââ, âââ), data obtained from a previous RNAseq analysis [49]. The red dotted lines (b, f, g, j, m, n, p, r, u, v) and yellow arrows (c, k, s) indicate the injured site. Nuclei stained with Hoechst in blue (a-c; e-g; i-p)
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Fig. 4. Zebrafish regulatory regions of GFAP drive expression of EGFP in neural stem and progenitor cells, and astrocytes in Xenopus laevis spinal cord. A-C Lateral view of EGFP expression in the central nervous system at A, B NF-Stage 43, and C NF-Stage 50. A EGFP expression in the eye, brain and spinal cord (arrowheads). B EGFP/brightfield merge. C Dorsal view of EGFP expression in the optic tectum, hindbrain and spinal cord at NF stage 50. D-F Double staining against D EGFP and E Sox2. Panels F showed merge image, and Fâ, Fâ magnifications of the dorsal and ventral cells surrounding the central canal. G-Oâ Characterization of EGFP cells by double staining at NF stage 66. G-Iâ EGFP and Sox2; J-Lâ EGFP and Brain lipid-binding protein (BLBP); and M-Oâ EGFP and Glutamine synthase (GS). Nuclei are label in blue with Hoechst. P-Q Immunogold staining against EGFP at NF stage 50. P EGFP+ cell in contact with the central canal. Pâ Magnification of square in P. Expression of EGFP is visualized by the black dots of the gold staining. Pâ Magnification of square in Pâ. Gold staining (black arrowhead) in close apposition with filaments (white arrowhead). Q Endfeet from an EGFP+ cell (colored green) in close contact with blood vessel (colored red). R Gene ontology analysis of the RNAseq from EGFP+ cells revealed the stem cell/neural precursor cell identity of these cells. S Dendrogram of EGFP+ cells and EGFPâ cells showing the hierarchical clustering of EGFP+ cells with astrocytes and EGFPâ cells with neurons and oligodendrocytes. Scale bar: C, Fâ-Fâ³: 20âμm; A-B, D-F, Iâ-Iâ³, Lâ, Oâ: 50âμm; G-I, J-L, M-O: 200âμm
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Fig. 5. Response to injury of Neural Stem and Progenitor Cells. a Scheme of EdU treatment. b Click-iT staining for EdU (red), and immunofluorescence against EGFP (green), merge with nuclei (blue) in sham control animals at 2âdays post sham operation (dps), and 2 dpt. c Graph of EdU-EGFP positive cells per mm3 at 2 dps (red bar) and 2 dpt (green bar). t-Test, ***: pâ<â0.001. d, e, f, g, h, i Immunofluorescence against EGFP (green) at NF stage 50 in d uninjured, e 2âdays post resection (dpr), f 6 dpr, g 7 dpr, h 10 dpr, and i 20 dpr. Magnifications are shown in panels dâ-dâ, eâ-eâ, fâ-fâ, gâ, hâ and iâ-iâ. j, k, l, m, n, o. Serial sections from the same preparation shown in panels d, e, f, g, h, i double stained for EGFP (green) with the neuronal marker Acetylated tubulin (red), and merge (orange). Nuclei are label in blue with Hoechst. White arrowhead highlights colocalization. Scale bar: d, e, f, g, h, i: 200âμm; dâ-dâ, eâ-eâ, fâ-fâ, gâ, hâ, iâ-iâ, j-jâ, k-kâ, l-lâ, m-mâ, n-nâ, o-oâ: 50âμm
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Fig. 6. Analysis of the differentiation of Neural Stem Progenitor Cells in response to spinal cord injury. a Diagram of the experimental procedure. b-m Graphs of the ratio in the mRNA levels for the indicated genes between the EGFP+ cells and EGFPâ cells in uninjured (ui), 2 and 6 dpt. b EGFP, c, d NSPCs markers: c sox2, d nestin. e-i neuronal precursor/neurogenic differentiation markers: e achaete-scute homolog 1 (ascl1), f neurogenin2a (neurog2a), g neurogenin3 (neurog3), h neurod1, i doublecortin (dcx). j, k Astrocytes markers: j vimentin-a (vim-a), k aldh1l1. l, m Oligodendrocytes markers: l sox10, m
myelin basic protein (mbp). nâ=â2â3 samples. Standard error bar is included in each graph.
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Fig. 7. Ablation of NSPCs blocks spinal cord regeneration. a Diagram of the treatment of zGFAP::mCherry-NTR transgenic animals with metronidazol (MTZ) or vehicle, followed by spinal cord resection, swimming recording, and histological analysis. b-e Eye imaging (b, d) before treatment, and 7âdays after incubation with c vehicle or e MTZ. f, g Spinal cord sections showing mCherry expression f before, and g 7âdays after MTZ treatment. h Graph of swimming at 1, 10, 15, 25 dpr in sham (Sh) operated animals treated with MTZ (Sh-MTZ, blue boxes), and resected (Rs) animals incubated with vehicle (Rs-Vehicle, red boxes) or MTZ (Rs-MTZ, green boxes). i-l Immunofluorescence against Sox2 (green) and nuclei stained with Hoechst of spinal cord sections obtained from animals at 30 dpr from the i, j Rs-vehicle, and k, l Rs-MTZ treated groups. Statistics in graph H: ANOVA-one way with Bonferroni post-test, ** pâ<â0.01, nâ=â4 independent biological replicates
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Figure S1. Cellular response to spinal cord injury in R- and NR-stages. (A) Centriolar satellite ultrastructure (arrowheads) in cells surrounding the rostral stump. (B) Radial projection of cells lining the central canal (yellow shadow). (C) Neutrophil in the injury site at 2 dpt in animals at NF stage 50. (C-E) Cells lining a rosette structure at 6 dpt are characterized by a (D) basal collagen lamina (blue shadow), (E) interdigitations and adherent junctions (arrowheads), and (F) intermediate filaments (arrowheads). Graphs of the number of red blood cells/μm2 Ãâ105 at (G) 2 and 6 dpt in NF stage 50, and (H) at 2 and 6 dpt in NF stage 66. Graphs of the number of macrophages/μm2 Ãâ105 at (I) 2 and 6 dpt in NF stage 50, and (J) at 2 and 6 dpt in NF stage 66. t-Test: ** pâ<â0,01; *** pâ<â0,001; **** pâ<â0,0001.
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Figure S2. In vivo time-lapse imaging of cells being extruded into the central canal. (A) Rostral stump of the transected spinal cord from a zGFAP::EGFP transgenic animal at R-stage 2 dpt. A time-lapses during 7âh for EGFP and transmitted light (T-PMT) z-stack were capture at the following time points: (B-Bâ²) 0âmin; 60âmin (C-Câ²); 120âmin (D-Dâ²); 180âmin (E-Eâ); 240âmin (F-Fâ²); 300âmin (G-Gâ); 360âmin (H-Hâ²). White and purple arrows point to extrusion events from the cells lining the central canal.
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Figure S3. Quantification of Vimentin Western Blot and Collagen AFOG staining. Western blot replicates for Vimentin and GAPDH in uninjured animals (ui), and after 2, 6, 10, 20 dpt in (A, B) R-Stage and (C, D) NR-Stage. Graphs of the adjusted relative density bands of Vimentin to the GAPDH control and normalized to the uninjured sample (ui) in (E) R-stage and (F) NR-stage at 2, 6, 10 and 20âdays post transection (dpt) spinal cord samples. (G) Graph of the adjusted collagen staining area relative to the uninjured (ui) animals at 6, 10 dpt of R-stage and 10, 20 dpt of NR-stage. Red line defined no changes of Vimentin levels or Collagen staining. t-Test: * pâ<â0,05; ** pâ<â0,01; *** pâ<â0,001.
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Figure S4. Transgenic line Xla.Tg(Dre.gfap:EGFP)Larra. (A-C) Three different animalsâ electroporated in the spinal cord with the CAG promoter driving the expression of EGFP in central canal cells. (D-F) Three different animals electroporated in the spinal cord with the zGFAP::EGFP construct driving specific expression in radial glial like cells in contact with the central canal. (G-J) Animals at different developmental stages of the transgenic line Xla.Tg(Dre.gfap:EGFP)Larra show in expression of EGFP in the neural tubeg at (G-Gâ) NF stage 23; (H-Hâ²) NF stage 27; (I-Iâ²) NF stage 31 and in the CNS at (J-Jâ) NF stage 41. (K-M) Double staining against (K) EGFP and (L) Sox2 in coronal section of the spinal cord at NF stage 43. Panels (M) showed merge image, and panels (Mâ, Mâ) are magnifications of the dorsal and ventral cells surrounding the central canal.
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Figure S5. RNAseq of EGFP+ and EGFPâ cells isolated from the transgenic line Xla.Tg(Dre.gfap:EGFP)Larra. (A) Flow chart of RNAseq bioinformatics analysis from EGFP+ and EGFPâ cells. (B) Graph of the Log2 fold change of the differential gene expression between EGFP+ cells versus EGFPâ cells after FACS and RNAseq. EGFP expression in EGFP+ cells (green) is highlighted.
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Figure S6. Analysis of EdU+ cells in the intestine. (A-B) Click-iT staining of EdU+ (red) of the intestine in (A) sham control animals (2 dps), and at (B) 2 dpt. Nuclei were stained with Hoechst (blue). (C) Graph of EdU+ cells per mm3 in the intestine. nâ=â3.
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Figure S7. Transgenic line Xla.Tg(Dre.gfap:mCherry-Nitroreductase) allows selective cell ablation. (A) Diagram of injection and electroporation of the spinal cord at NF stage 50, indicating volume, concentration and parameters of electroporation. (B) Scheme of electroporation of the Dre.gfap:mCherry-Nitroreductase construct and treatment with vehicle or metronidazol (MTZ) at NF stage 50. (C-R) mCherry (red) expression in the spinal cord of animal electroporated at (C-D; I-J) 2âdays post electroporation (dpe), before treatment; (E-F; K-L) 4 dpe and 2âdays post treatment (dtt); (G-H; M-N) 7 dpe and 5 dtt, and (O- R) at 8 dpe and 6 dtt co-stained with Hoechst (blue). (S) The construct used to generate the transgenic line Xla.Tg(Dre.gfap:mCherry-Nitroreductase). (T, U) mCherry expression in the eye (arrow) and the brain of the transgenic animal at NF stage 42.
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Supplementary Table 1. List of genes, ID number and their respective primer-Forward and primer-Reverse used for RT-qPCR analysis.
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