SummaryHippocampal neurogenesis is important for certain forms of cognition, and failing neurogenesis has been implicated in neuropsychiatric diseases. The neurogenic capacity of hippocampal neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) depends on a balance between quiescent and proliferative states. Here, we show that the rate of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) regulates the activity of NSPCs. Quiescent NSPCs show high levels of carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1a (Cpt1a)-dependent FAO, which is downregulated in proliferating NSPCs. Pharmacological inhibition and conditional deletion of Cpt1a in vitro and in vivo leads to altered NSPC behavior, showing that Cpt1a-dependent FAO is required for stem cell maintenance and proper neurogenesis. Strikingly, manipulation of malonyl-CoA, the metabolite that regulates levels of FAO, is sufficient to induce exit from quiescence and to enhance NSPC proliferation. Thus, the data presented here identify a shift in FAO metabolism that governs NSPC behavior and suggest an instructive role for fatty acid metabolism in regulating NSPC activity.

Like many asymmetrically dividing cells, budding yeast segregates mitotic spindle poles nonrandomly between mother and daughter cells. During metaphase, the spindle positioning protein Kar9 accumulates asymmetrically, localizing specifically to astral microtubules emanating from the old spindle pole body (SPB) and driving its segregation to the bud. Here, we show that the SPB component Nud1/centriolin acts through the mitotic exit network (MEN) to specify asymmetric SPB inheritance. In the absence of MEN signaling, Kar9 asymmetry is unstable and its preference for the old SPB is disrupted. Consistent with this, phosphorylation of Kar9 by the MEN kinases Dbf2 and Dbf20 is not required to break Kar9 symmetry but is instead required to maintain stable association of Kar9 with the old SPB throughout metaphase. We propose that MEN signaling links Kar9 regulation to SPB identity through biasing and stabilizing the age-insensitive, cyclin-B-dependent mechanism of symmetry breaking.

SUMMARYMulti-lineage neuronal, astrocytic and oligodendrocytic potential is considered a neural stem cell (NSC) trait. However, hippocampal NSCs generate neurons and astrocytes but not oligodendrocytes in vivo and how this is regulated is unknown. Here we show that the RNAseIII Drosha is an intrinsic regulator of stem cell maintenance and differentiation in the adult mouse hippocampus. Inactivation of Drosha results in exhaustion of the NSC pool, premature arrest of neurogenesis, and induction of oligodendrocyte fate commitment. Drosha silences Nuclear Factor IB (NFIB) in hippocampal NSCs by targeting a double-stranded hairpin in the NFIB mRNA, thereby repressing its expression in a Dicer and miRNA-independent manner. We show that NFIB is required and sufficient for oligodendrocyte fate and knockdown of NFIB rescues neurogenesis by Drosha-deficient hippocampal NSCs. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism for stem cell maintenance and oligodendrocyte fate restriction in the adult hippocampus.3

Highlights d The human FASN R1819W variant affects neurogenesis and cognition in knockin mice d FASN R1819W impairs human neural stem/progenitor cell (NSPC) proliferation d FASN-dependent metabolism differentially regulates NSPC activity in mice and humans

Neural stem cells (NSCs) generate neurons and glial cells throughout embryonic and postnatal brain development. The role of S-palmitoylation (also referred to as S-acylation), a reversible posttranslational lipid modification of proteins, in regulating the fate and activity of NSCs remains largely unknown. We used an unbiased screening approach to identify proteins that are S-acylated in mouse NSCs and showed that bone morphogenic protein receptor 1a (BMPR1a), a core mediator of BMP signaling, is palmitoylated. Genetic manipulation of S-acylated sites affects the localization and trafficking of BMPR1a and leads to altered BMP signaling. Strikingly, defective palmitoylation of BMPR1a modulates NSC function within the mouse brain, resulting in enhanced oligodendrogenesis. Thus, we identified a mechanism regulating the behavior of NSCs and provided the framework to characterize dynamic posttranslational lipid modifications of proteins in the context of NSC biology.