Multipotent Neural Stem Cells Reside into the Rostral Extension and Olfactory Bulb of Adult Rodents
The lateral walls of the forebrain lateral ventricles are the richest source of stem cells in the adult mammalian brain. These stem cells give rise to new olfactory neurons that are renewed throughout life. The neurons originate in the subventricular zone (SVZ), migrate within the rostral extension (RE) of the SVZ along the rostral migratory stream (RMS) within tube-like structures formed of glial cells, to eventually reach the olfactory bulb (OB). We demonstrate that, contrary to the current view, multipotential (neuronal-astroglial-oligodendroglial) precursors with stem cell features can be isolated not only from the SVZ but also from the entire RE, including the distal portion within the…
Defective Postnatal Neurogenesis and Disorganization of the Rostral Migratory Stream in Absence of theVax1Homeobox Gene
The subventricular zone (SVZ) is one of the sources of adult neural stem cells (ANSCs) in the mouse brain. Precursor cells proliferate in the SVZ and migrate through the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to the olfactory bulb (OB), where they differentiate into granule and periglomerular cells. Few transcription factors are known to be responsible for regulating NSC proliferation, migration, and differentiation processes; even fewer have been found to be responsible for the organization of the SVZ and RMS. For this reason, we studied the ventral anterior homeobox (Vax1) gene in NSC proliferation and in SVZ organization. We found thatVax1is strongly expressed in the SVZ and in the RMS and that,…