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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 586/16/3767    most recent jphysiol.2008.158436v1 Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Gallo, V. Articles by Dietrich, D. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gallo, V. Articles by Dietrich, D. Related Collections Review articles Neuroscience

¹ Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA
² Department of Neurosurgery, University Clinic Bonn, D-53105 Bonn, Germany

Progenitor cells expressing the proteoglycan NG2 represent approximately 5% of the total cells in the adult brain, and are found both in grey and white matter regions where they give rise to oligodendrocytes. The finding that these cells receive synaptic contacts from excitatory and inhibitory neurons has not only raised major interest in the possible roles of these synapses, but also stimulated further research on the developmental and cellular functions of NG2-expressing (NG2⁺) progenitors themselves in the context of neural circuit physiology. Here we review recent findings on the functional properties of the synapses on NG2⁺ cells in grey and white matter regions of the brain. In this review article we make an attempt to integrate current knowledge on the cellular and developmental properties of NG2⁺ progenitors with the functional attributes of their synapses, in order to understand the physiological relevance of neuron–NG2⁺ progenitor signal transmission. We propose that, although NG2⁺ progenitors receive synaptic contact in all brain regions where they are found, their synapses might have different developmental and functional roles, probably reflecting the distinct functions of NG2⁺ progenitors in the brain.

(Received 17 June 2008; accepted after revision 10 July 2008; first published online 17 July 2008)
Corresponding author V. Gallo: Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20010, USA.  Email: vgallo{at}cnmcresearch.org

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