Figure 9.

In the uninjured developing rodent brain, increasing integrin expression does not result in longer projections from iPSC-derived hNPCs. Transplants from all 43 pups were compared within the two groups (WT and α9-eYFP hNPC transplants). The transplant sites for both groups (panels A,C) indicate that both groups received on-target injections across all time points (2 weeks to 8 weeks). When comparing axonal projections from these two groups (panels B,D,E), results show the distance axons of WT hNPCs project are comparable to the distance α9-eYFP hNPCs project. At 2 weeks, both groups show projections emanating through the pyramidal tract reaching the pyramids. Similarly, at 4 weeks, WT hNPCs projected axons from the cortex to the pons (the α9-eYFP hNPCs at 4 weeks have been removed from analysis due to small group size). At 6 weeks, WT hNPCs were also able to project to the pons whilst α9-eYFP hNPCs projected only as far as the cerebral peduncles. Finally, at 7 and at 8 weeks, WT hNPC projections were detected within the cerebral peduncles and α9-eYFP hNPCs were detected only as far as the internal capsule.