Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells Become Regionally Diverse and Heterogeneous with Age

Abstract

Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), which differentiate into myelinating oligodendrocytes during CNS development, are the main proliferative cells in the adult brain. OPCs are conventionally considered a homogeneous population, particularly with respect to their electrophysiological properties, but this has been debated. We show, by using single-cell electrophysiological recordings, that OPCs start out as a homogeneous population but become functionally heterogeneous, varying both within and between brain regions and with age. These electrophysiological changes in OPCs correlate with the differentiation potential of OPCs; thus, they may underlie the differentiational differences in OPCs between regions and, likewise, differentiation failure with age.