S100A6 (calcyclin) is a novel marker of neural stem cells and astrocyte precursors in the subgranular zone of the adult mouse hippocampus.

S100A6 (calcyclin), an EF-hand calcium binding protein, is considered to play various roles in the brain, for example, cell proliferation and differentiation, calcium homeostasis, and neuronal degeneration. In addition to some limbic nuclei, S100A6 is distributed in the rostral migratory stream, one of the major neurogenic niches of the adult brain. However, the potential involvement of S100A6 in adult neurogenesis remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of S100A6 in the other major neurogenic niche, the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus in the adult mouse hippocampus. Immunofluorescent multiple labeling showed that S100A6 was highly expressed in neural stem cells labeled by sex determining region Y-box 2, brain lipid-binding protein protein and glial fibrillary acidic protein. S100A6+ cells often extended a long process typical of radial glial morphology. In addition, S100A6 was found in some S100β+ astrocyte lineage cells. Interestingly, proliferating cell nuclear antigen was detected in a fraction of S100A6+/S100β+ cells. These cells were considered to be lineage-restricted astrocyte precursors maintaining mitotic potential. On the other hand, S100A6 was rarely seen in neural lineage cells labeled by T-box brain protein 2, doublecortin, calretinin and calbindin D28K. Cell fate-tracing experiment using BrdU showed that the majority of newly generated immature astrocytes were immunoreactive for S100A6, while mature astrocytes lacked S100A6 immunoreactivity. Administration of S100 protein inhibitor, trifluoperazine, caused a reduction in production of S100β+ astrocyte lineage cells, but had no impact on neurogenesis. Overall, our data provide the first evidence that S100A6 is a specific marker of neural stem cells and astrocyte precursors, and may be especially important for generation of astrocytes in the adult hippocampus.