Ontogeny of ependymoglial cells lining the third ventricle in mice

Introduction: During hypothalamic development, the germinative neuroepithelium gives birth to diverse neural cells that regulate numerous physiological functions in adulthood.

Methods: Here, we studied the ontogeny of ependymal cells in the mouse mediobasal hypothalamus using the BrdU approach and publicly available single-cell RNAseq datasets.

Results: We observed that while typical ependymal cells are mainly produced at E13, tanycyte birth depends on time and subtypes and lasts up to P8. Typical ependymocytes and β tanycytes are the first to arise at the top and bottom of the dorsoventral axis around E13, whereas α tanycytes emerge later in development, generating an outside-in dorsoventral gradient along the third ventricle. Additionally, α tanycyte generation displayed a rostral-to-caudal pattern. Finally, tanycytes mature progressively until they reach transcriptional maturity between P4 and P14.

Discussion: Altogether, this data shows that ependyma generation differs in time and distribution, highlighting the heterogeneity of the third ventricle.