In the adult mammalian hippocampus, neurogenesis is concentrated in the subgranular zone of dentate gyrus (DG). Adult-born neurons integrate functionally into existing hippocampal circuits, and dysregulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) is linked to disorders of learning, memory, and emotion. AHN declines with age. Our lab investigates how aging alters AHN in mice. We developed an efficient method to culture neurospheres from adult and aged DG neural progenitors, maintaining them as adult hippocampal neural progenitor cells (AHNPCs). We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on AHNPCs to identify intrinsic regulators of age-related changes. We transplanted AHNPCs into the mouse DG in vivo to assess their differentiation and integration in the mature hippocampus. Spatial transcriptomics showed transplanted AHNPCs adopt expression profiles similar to neighboring endogenous granule cells. Ultimately, we aim to determine whether cultured AHNPCs can be used to treat neurological disorders.

 

Dr. Hwai-Jong Cheng is Director and Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. He earned his M.D. from the National Taiwan University (1989) and Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Harvard University (1995), followed by postdoctoral training in Neurobiology at UC San Francisco and Stanford University (1997–2002).

Before returning to Taiwan, Dr. Cheng was a long-time faculty member at the University of California, Davis, where he served as Professor at the Center for Neuroscience and Chair of the Neuroscience Graduate Group. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying axon guidance, synaptic development, and neurodegeneration, and his recent work explores molecular and cellular switches driving aging and RNA-based therapeutic approaches.