title: Neuronal progenitor-like cells expressing polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule are present on the ventricular surface of the adult rat brain and spinal cord.
abstract: In the adult rodent brain, it is now well established that neurons are continuously generated from proliferating neuronal progenitor cells located in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricle (SVZ) and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Recently, it has been shown that neurons can also be generated in vitro from various regions of the adult brain and spinal cord ventricular neuroaxis. As the highly polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) has been shown to be specifically expressed by neuronal progenitor cells of the SVZ and the hippocampus, the present study was designed to determine whether cells expressing this molecule could be detected in the vicinity of the ventricular system of the adult rat brain and spinal cord. After double or triple immunostaining for different neuronal and glial markers, confocal microscopy was used to examine the surface of the ventricular neuroaxis in either 40- to 50-microm-thick transverse vibratome sections cut through different brain regions, or in 200- to 300-microm-thick tissue slices including the intact surface of the brain ventricles or of the spinal cord central canal. In untreated rats, PSA-NCAM, microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP2) and class III-beta-tubulin were found to be associated with a number of neuron-like cells located on the surface of the third and fourth ventricles and of the spinal cord central canal. The proliferation of the PSA-NCAM-immunoreactive (IR) neuron-like cells detected on the surface of the third and fourth ventricles was not affected by injection of epidermal growth factor (EGF) or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) into these ventricles, but was stimulated by the combined injection of EGF + bFGF. These data indicate that cells exhibiting features of neuronal progenitors are present on the ependymal surface of the adult rat brain and spinal cord ventricular axis.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U336, University of Montpellier II, 34095 Montpellier, France. galonso@crit.univ-montp2.fr
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alonso
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000963:Antimetabolites; D015415:Biomarkers; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D020546:Fourth Ventricle / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D007276:Injections, Intraventricular; D020547:Lateral Ventricles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D039842:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule L1; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley / Q000502:physiology*; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D013115:Spinal Canal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology*; D020542:Third Ventricle / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D000963:Antimetabolites; D015415:Biomarkers; D039842:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule L1; D019006:Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules; D012794:Sialic Acids; C103469:polysialyl neural cell adhesion molecule; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine