Fig. 6. Deletion of Rbpsuh reduces the generation of astrocytes and increases the generation of oligodendrocytes without affecting the numbers of neurons in the E14.5 spinal cord. (A-F) Sections from the thoracic neural tube of E14.5 Nestin-Cre⁺ Rbpsuh^fl/fl mice contained fewer BFABP⁺ radial glia (A,B) and more Olig2⁺ oligodendrocyte progenitors (C,D) than sections from control littermates, although levels of neurogenesis appeared similar (E,F). The differences in gliogenesis were particularly pronounced in the center of the neural tube, which was marked by a disorganized or absent central canal in Nestin-Cre⁺ Rbpsuh^fl/fl mice (compare A to B, and H to I). (G) Nestin-Cre⁺ Rbpsuh^fl/fl mice had significantly fewer BFABP⁺ cells per section and significantly more Olig2⁺ cells per section (three to seven sections per mouse, three mice per genotype). (H-O) Higher magnification images showed that the center of the Nestin-Cre⁺ Rbpsuh^fl/fl neural tube contained mainly Olig2⁺ oligodendrocyte progenitors (I), in contrast to control mice that contained mainly BFABP⁺ radial glia (H). The small numbers of Olig2⁺ cells present in control mice did not co-label with BrdU (N, arrow), whereas at least some of the Olig2⁺ cells from Nestin-Cre⁺ Rbpsuh^fl/fl mice did (O, arrowheads). We did not observe any difference between Nestin-Cre⁺ Rbpsuh^fl/fl mice and littermate controls in the frequency of cells undergoing cell death (activated caspase-3⁺ cells, data not shown). Panels A-F,H,I are montages of multiple non-overlapping images of the same section. Scale bars: 50 µm in A,B for A-F; 50 µm in H,I; 20 µm in J,K for J-O.