0000000000276035
AUTHOR
Cheuk Ka Tong
Axons take a dive
In the walls of the lateral ventricles of the adult mammalian brain, neural stem cells (NSCs) and ependymal (E1) cells share the apical surface of the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ). In a recent article, we show that supraependymal serotonergic (5HT) axons originating from the raphe nuclei in mice form an extensive plexus on the walls of the lateral ventricles where they contact E1 cells and NSCs. Here we further characterize the contacts between 5HT supraependymal axons and E1 cells in mice, and show that suprependymal axons tightly associated to E1 cells are also present in the walls of the human lateral ventricles. These observations raise interesting questions about the functio…
Axonal control of the adult neural stem cell niche.
SummaryThe ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) is an extensive germinal niche containing neural stem cells (NSCs) in the walls of the lateral ventricles of the adult brain. How the adult brain’s neural activity influences the behavior of adult NSCs remains largely unknown. We show that serotonergic (5HT) axons originating from a small group of neurons in the raphe form an extensive plexus on most of the ventricular walls. Electron microscopy revealed intimate contacts between 5HT axons and NSCs (B1) or ependymal cells (E1) and these cells were labeled by a transsynaptic viral tracer injected into the raphe. B1 cells express the 5HT receptors 2C and 5A. Electrophysiology showed that acti…