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Brief Report

CDK2 is Dispensable for Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis

Renaud Vandenbosch, Laurence Borgs, Pierre Beukelaers, Agnès Foidart, Laurent Nguyen, Gustave Moonen, Cyril Berthet, Philipp Kaldis, Vittorio Gallo, Shibeshih Belachew and Brigitte Malgrange

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Granule neurons of the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus undergo continuous renewal throughout life. Among cell-cycle regulators, cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (Cdk2) is considered as a major regulator of S-phase entry. We used Cdk2-deficient mice to decipher the requirement of Cdk2 for the generation of new neurons in the adult hippocampus. The quantification of cell cycle markers first revealed that the lack of Cdk2 activity does not influence spontaneous or seizure-induced proliferation of neural progenitor cells (NPC) in the adult DG. Using bromodeoxyuridine incorporation assays, we showed that the number of mature newborn granule neurons generated de novo was similar in both wild-type (WT) and Cdk2-deficient adult mice. Moreover, the apparent lack of cell output reduction in Cdk2-/- mice DG did not result from a reduction in apoptosis of newborn granule cells as analyzed by TUNEL assays. Our results therefore suggest that Cdk2 is dispensable for NPC proliferation, differentiation and survival of adult-born DG granule neurons in vivo. These data emphasize that functional redundancies between Cdks also occur in the adult brain at the level of neural progenitor cell cycle regulation during hippocampal neurogenesis.

Authors

Renaud Vandenbosch

University of Liege; Liege, Belgium

Laurence Borgs

University of Liege; Liege, Belgium

Pierre Beukelaers

University of Liege; Liege, Belgium

Agnès Foidart

University of Liege; Liege, Belgium

Laurent Nguyen

University of Liege; Liege, Belgium

Gustave Moonen

University of Liege; Liege, Belgium

Cyril Berthet

National Cancer Institute; NIH; Frederick, MD

Philipp Kaldis

National Cancer Institute; NIH; Frederick, MD

Vittorio Gallo

Children's National Medical Center; Washington, DC

Shibeshih Belachew

University of Liege; Liege, Belgium

Brigitte Malgrange

University of Liege; Liege, Belgium

Purchase article for $19

Subscribe to this journal for $129/year