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Astrocyte maldevelopment is implicated in various neuropsychiatric diseases associated with early life stress. However, the underlying astrocytopathy mechanism, which can result in the psychiatric symptoms, remains unclear. In this study, it is shown that a reduced oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) population accompanies hindered hippocampal astrocytic development in an improved parental isolation mouse model, and that the loss of OPCs suppresses astrocytic network formation and activity. It is further demonstrated that OPC‐derived Wnt ligands, in particular Wnt7b, are required for Wnt/β‐catenin pathway‐mediated astrocytic development and subsequent effects related to neuronal function. In addition, focal replenishment of Wnt7a/b is sufficient to rescue astrocytic maldevelopment. These results elucidate a Wnt‐paracrine‐dependent but myelin‐independent role of OPCs in regulating astrocytic development, which provides a unique insight into the astrocytopathy mechanism in early life stress, and can be implicated in the pathogenesis of human early life stress‐related neuropsychiatric disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing oligodendrocytes, collectively termed 'pre-myelinating oligodendrocytes' (pre OLs), are vulnerable to hypoxic or ischemic insults. The underlying mechanism of this vulnerability remains unclear. Previously, we showed that Bcl-2⁄E1B-19K-interacting protein 3 ( BNIP3), a proapoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family proteins, induced neuronal death in a caspase-independent manner in stroke. In this study, we investigated the role of BNIP3 in pre OL cell death induced by hypoxia or ischemia. In primary oligodendrocyte progenitor cell ( OPC) cultures exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation, we found that BNIP3 was upregulated and levels of BNIP3 expression correlated with the death of OPCs. Up-regulation of BNIP3 was observed in pre OLs in the white matter in a neonatal rat model of stroke. Knockout of BNIP3 significantly reduced death of pre OLs in the middle cerebral artery occlusion model in mice. Our results demonstrate a role of BNIP3 in mediating pre OLs cell death induced by hypoxia or ischemia, and suggest that BNIP3 may be a new target for protecting oligodendrocytes from death after stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]