The adult mammalian brain harbors a population of cells around their lateral ventricles capable of giving rise to new neurons throughout life. The so-called subventricular zone (SVZ) is a heterogeneous germinative niche in regard to the neuronal types it generates. SVZ progenitors give rise to different olfactory bulb (OB) interneuron types in accordance to their position along the ventricles. ...

Neural stem and progenitor cells (NSC/NPCs) are multipotent self-renewing cells that are able to generate neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes (OLs) within the adult central nervous system. We cultured NSC/NPCs from the rat subventricular zone as neurospheres (NS) and studied apoTransferrin (aTf) effects on oligodendroglial specification and maturation. Our findings suggest that aTf acts at...

In adult mammalian brains, neural stem cells (NSCs) exist in the subventricular zone (SVZ), where persistent neurogenesis continues throughout life. Those NSCs produce neuroblasts that migrate into the olfactory bulb via formation of transit-amplifying cells, which are committed precursor cells of the neuronal lineage. In this SVZ niche, cell-cell communications conducted by diffusible factors ...

Radiation therapy is a standard treatment for brain tumor patients. However, it comes with side effects, such as neurological deficits. While likely multi-factorial, the effect may in part be associated with the impact of radiation on the neurogenic niches. In the adult mammalian brain, the neurogenic niches are localized in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles and the dentat...

Stroke is among the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, 85% of which are ischemic. Current stroke therapies are limited by a narrow effective therapeutic time and fail to effectively complete the recovery of the damaged area. Magnetic resonance imaging of the subventricular zone (SVZ) following infarct/stroke has allowed visualization of new axonal connections and projections bein...

The walls of the lateral ventricles contain the largest germinal region in the adult mammalian brain. The subventricular zone (SVZ) in these walls is an extensively studied model system for understanding the behavior of neural stem cells and the regulation of adult neurogenesis. Traditionally, these studies have relied on classical sectioning techniques for histological analysis. Here we presen...

The forebrain ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) continuously generates new neurons throughout life. Neural stem cells (type B1 cells) along the lateral ventricle become activated, self-renew, and give rise to proliferating precursors which progress along the neurogenic lineage from intermediate progenitors (type C cells) to neuroblasts (type A cells). Neuroblasts proliferate and migrate i...

Neuroblasts born in the adult subventricular zone (SVZ) migrate long distances in the rostral migratory stream (RMS) to the olfactory bulbs where they integrate into circuitry as functional interneurons. As very little was known about the dynamic parameters of SVZ neuroblast migration, we used two-photon time-lapse microscopy to analyze migration in acute slices. This involved analyzing 3D stac...

Enhancement of adult neurogenesis in female mice was previously demonstrated through exposure to soiled bedding from males, although the identity of relevant chemosignals has remained unknown. The farnesenes and SBT (2-sec-butyl-4,5-dihydrothiazole) are male murine pheromones that dominant males secrete at higher levels. Previous studies have shown that they induce oestrus in female mice. We ha...

The subcortical telencephalon is the major source of GABAergic interneurons that, during development, tangentially migrate to the cerebral cortex, where they modulate the glutamatergic excitatory action of pyramidal cells. The transcription factor Vax1, an intracellular mediator of both Shh and Fgf signaling, is expressed at high levels in the medial and lateral ganglionic eminences (MGE and LG...