Nuclear area and orientation in the subventricular and intermediate zones was studied quantitatively in coronal vs. sagittal sections of the dorsomedial neocortex. Nissl-stained methacrylate-embedded normal rat embryos were studied between embryonic days (E) 13 and E22. The area of nuclear profiles and the degrees their long axes (defined as a straight line through the two most distant points i...

OBJECTIVE Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used for more than a decade to treat Parkinson's disease (PD); however, its mechanism of action remains unknown. Given the close proximity of the electrode trajectory to areas of the brain known as the "germinal niches," we sought to explore the possibility that DBS influences neural stem cell proliferation locally, as well as more distantly. ME...

Large numbers of dying cells are found in proliferating tissues, suggesting a link between cell death and cell division. We detected and quantified dying cells during pre- and early postnatal development of the rat cerebral cortex using in situ end labeling of DNA fragmentation [terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL)] and electron microscopy. The pr...

The activity of adult stem cells is regulated by signals emanating from the surrounding tissue. Many niche signals have been identified, but it is unclear how they influence the choice of stem cells to remain quiescent or divide. Here we show that when stem cells of the adult hippocampus receive activating signals, they first induce the expression of the transcription factor Ascl1 and only subs...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Stroke is a common cause of neonatal brain injury. The subventricular zone is a lifelong source of newly generated cells in rodents, and erythropoietin (EPO) treatment has shown benefit in different animal models of brain injury. The purpose of this study is to investigate the specific role of exogenous EPO on subventricular zone progenitor cell populations in response to...

Stem cells have captured our imagination and generated hope, representing a source of replacement cells to treat a host of medical conditions. Tucked away in specialized niches, stem cells maintain tissue function and rejuvenate organs. Balancing the equation between cellular supply and demand is especially important in the adult brain, as neural stem cells (NSCs) in two discrete regions, the s...

In this work we have uncovered a role for Wnt signaling as an important regulator of stem cell self-renewal in the developing brain. We identified Wnt-responsive cells in the subventricular zone of the developing E14.5 mouse brain. Responding cell populations were enriched for self-renewing stem cells in primary culture, suggesting that Wnt signaling is a hallmark of self-renewing activity in v...

The vasculature has been identified as a prominent feature across several stem cell niches, suggesting a crucial role in their regulation and maintenance. While a critical component of every organ and tissue, it has adopted specific features for specialized microenvironments. Most notably, the subventricular (SVZ) and subgranular (SGZ) zones of the adult brain harbor unique vascular plexi that ...

Adult neurogenesis mainly occurs at the subventricular zone (SVZ) on the walls of the lateral ventricle and the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus (DG). However, the majority of newborn neurons undergo programmed cell death (PCD) during the period of proliferation, migration, and integration. Stroke activates neural stem cells (NSCs) in both SVZ and SGZ. This process is regulated by a ...

During mammalian brain development, immature neurons often migrate considerable distances. A dramatic example is the rostral migration of olfactory interneuron precursors from near the septum to the olfactory bulb via a subventricular pathway. Heterotopic transplantations establish that this migration is unidirectional and that guidance cues operate over a considerable distance. The guidance cu...