Search results for "ependyma"
showing 6 items of 66 documents
The proliferative ventricular zone in adult vertebrates: a comparative study using reptiles, birds, and mammals
2002
Although evidence accumulated during the last decades has advanced our understanding of adult neurogenesis in the vertebrate brain, many aspects of this intriguing phenomenon remain controversial. Here we review the organization and cellular composition of the ventricular wall of reptiles, birds, and mammals in an effort to identify differences and commonalities among these vertebrate classes. Three major cell types have been identified in the ventricular zone of reptiles and birds: migrating (Type A) cells, radial glial (Type B) cells, and ependymal (Type E) cells. Cells similar anatomically and functionally to Types A, B, and E have also been described in the ventricular wall of mammals, …
Pigment epithelium-derived factor is a niche signal for neural stem cell renewal.
2006
Adult stem cells are characterized by self-renewal and multilineage differentiation, and these properties seem to be regulated by signals from adjacent differentiated cell types and by extracellular matrix molecules, which collectively define the stem cell "niche." Self-renewal is essential for the lifelong persistence of stem cells, but its regulation is poorly understood. In the mammalian brain, neurogenesis persists in two germinal areas, the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the hippocampus, where continuous postnatal neuronal production seems to be supported by neural stem cells (NSCs). Here we show that pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is secreted by components of the murine SVZ a…
Defective Postnatal Neurogenesis and Disorganization of the Rostral Migratory Stream in Absence of theVax1Homeobox Gene
2004
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,…
Programming of neural progenitors of the adult subependymal zone towards a glutamatergic identity by Neurogenin2
2017
ABSTRACTWhile the adult subependymal zone (SEZ) harbors pools of distinct neural stem cells that generate different types of GABAergic interneurons, a small progenitor population in the dorsal SEZ expresses Neurog2 and gives rise to glutamatergic neurons. Here we investigated whether SEZ progenitors can be programmed towards glutamatergic neurogenesis through forced expression of Neurog2. Retrovirus-mediated expression of Neurog2 induced the glutamatergic neuron lineage markers Tbr2 and Tbr1 in cultured SEZ progenitors which subsequently differentiated into functional glutamatergic neurons. Likewise, retrovirus-mediated expression of Neurog2 in dividing SEZ progenitors within the adult SEZ …
Age-Related Changes in Astrocytic and Ependymal Cells of the Subventricular Zone
2014
Neurogenesis persists in the adult subventricular zone (SVZ) of the mammalian brain. During aging, the SVZ neurogenic capacity undergoes a progressive decline, which is attributed to a decrease in the population of neural stem cells (NSCs). However, the behavior of the NSCs that remain in the aged brain is not fully understood. Here we performed a comparative ultrastructural study of the SVZ niche of 2-month-old and 24-month-old male C57BL/6 mice, focusing on the NSC population. Using thymidine-labeling, we showed that residual NSCs in the aged SVZ divide less frequently than those in young mice. We also provided evidence that ependymal cells are not newly generated during senescence, as ot…
The lizard cerebral cortex as a model to study neuronal regeneration
2002
The medial cerebral cortex of lizards, an area homologous to the hippocampal fascia dentata, shows delayed postnatal neurogenesis, i.e., cells in the medial cortex ependyma proliferate and give rise to immature neurons, which migrate to the cell layer. There, recruited neurons differentiate and give rise to zinc containing axons directed to the rest of cortical areas, thus resulting in a continuous growth of the medial cortex and its zinc-enriched axonal projection. This happens along the lizard life span, even in adult lizards, thus allowing one of their most important characteristics: neuronal regeneration. Experiments in our laboratory have shown that chemical lesion of the medial cortex…