title: Differentiation of newly born neurons and glia in the dentate gyrus of the adult rat.
abstract: In order to determine whether newly born cells in the dentate gyrus of the adult rat express the neuronal marker, neuron-specific enolase, or the glial marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein, we performed combined immunohistochemistry and autoradiography on brains from adult rats perfused at various times ranging from 1 h to four weeks following [3H]thymidine administration. Light-microscopic examination revealed a negligible number of [3H]thymidine-labeled cells showing neuron-specific enolase immunoreactivity during mitosis. However, by two weeks after [3H]thymidine administration, a significant increase in the density of [3H]thymidine-labeled neuron-specific enolase-immunoreactive cells was detected. Three weeks following [3H]thymidine injection the majority of [3H]thymidine-labeled cells (> 70%) were immunoreactive for the neuronal marker. At the four-week time-point, [3H]thymidine-labeled neuron-specific enolase-immunoreactive cells were indistinguishable from neighboring granule cells. In contrast, glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity was observed in a small but significant number of [3H]thymidine cells at the 1-h time-point and the proportion of labeled cells that were immunoreactive for this cell marker did not increase with time. [3H]Thymidine-labeled cells that were immunoreactive for glial fibrillary acidic protein typically showed morphologic characteristics of radial glia at all time-points. At the 1-h time-point, the majority of [3H]thymidine-labeled cells were observed in the hilus (> 60%) with the remainder being located in the granule cell layer. However, with a four-week survival-time most [3H]thymidine-labeled cells (> 85%) were located in the granule cell layer. The majority of newly born cells in the adult dentate gyrus differentiate into neurons.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021.
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Woolley
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: McEwen
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gould
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D002455:Cell Division; D002465:Cell Movement; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000032:analysis*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase