Neurogenesis in the Human Brain

描述(申请人提供)：我们实验室的初步工作表明，人类的脑室下区(SVZ)星形胶质细胞具有神经干细胞的功能，人类SVZ的细胞结构与其他哺乳动物的细胞结构不同。我们将通过电子显微镜对成人SVZ进行一系列重建，并通过免疫细胞化学技术寻找成人SVZ神经干细胞的准确位置，来进行实验以确定人SVZ的细胞结构及其新细胞的命运。这一信息对于提出关于SVZ中增殖细胞功能的假说是必要的。我们将了解SVZ中是否存在具有瞬时放大细胞特征的细胞，即年轻神经元或年轻少突胶质细胞。我们的第二个目标是描述成人大脑中的SVZ-嗅球(OB)系统。我们将研究成人神经元迁移的其他可能途径，并将描述成人OB和神经束的特征。我们将专注于使用特定的标记来识别年轻的神经元前体，以探索成年人脑中可能的迁移路线，我们还将调查OB内是否存在固有的干细胞群体，以及它们可能如何迁移到大脑的其他区域。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Preliminary work from our lab suggests that in humans the subventricular zone (SVZ) astrocytes function as neural stem cells and that the cytoarchitecture of the SVZ in humans is different from that of other mammals. We will perform experiments to determine the cytoarchitecture of the human SVZ and fates of its new cells by doing a serial reconstruction of the adult human SVZ with electron microscopy and by finding the exact location of adult human SVZ neural stem cells with immunocytochemistry techniques. This information is essential to raise hypothesis regarding the function of proliferative cells in the SVZ. We will learn if cells with the characteristics of transient amplifying cells, of young neurons or young oligodendrocytes, exist in the SVZ. Our second aim is to describe the SVZ-Olfactory Bulb (OB) system in adult human brain. We will study other possible pathways for adult human neuronal migration and we will characterize the adult human OB and tract. We will focus in the identification of young neuronal precursors using specific markers to explore possible migratory routes in the adult human brain and we will also investigate whether there is an intrinsic population of stem cells within the OB and how they may possibly migrate to supply other regions of the brain.