Improving and controlling the capacity of endogenous or grafted adult neural stem cells to repair the nervous system relies on a better knowledge of interactions between immune cells and neural stem cells. Class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) family members comprise numerous proteins playing either immune or nonimmune function. Among the latter, MHC functions in the central nervous system has started to receive recent interest. Here, our first goal was to investigate the potential relationship between MHC class I molecules and neurogenesis. For the first time, we report the expression of two MHC class I-related members by neural stem/progenitor cells: retinoic acid early induced transcript (RAE)-1 and CD1d. The expression of RAE-1 but not CD1d disappears when differentiation of neurosphere cells is induced. Interestingly, RAE-1 transcripts are expressed in the brain during development, and we demonstrate they persist in one of the main area of adult neurogenesis, the subventricular zone (SVZ). So far, RAE-1 is only known for its immune functions as a ligand of the activating receptor NKG2D expressed by natural killer (NK) cells, natural killer T, Tγδ, and some T CD8 lymphocytes. Here, we do not detect any NKG2D expression in the SVZ either in physiological or in pathological conditions. Interestingly, inhibition of RAE-1 expression in neurosphere cells reduces cell proliferation without alteration of cell viability, which argues for a nonimmune role for RAE-1. These results reveal an unexpected role of RAE-1 in regulating adult SVZ neurogenesis by supporting stem/progenitor cells proliferation.
© 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.