The cerebral cortex of large mammals undergoes massive surface area expansion and folding during development. Specific mechanisms to orchestrate the growth of the cortex in surface area rather than in thickness are likely to exist, but they have not been identified. Analyzing multiple species, we have identified a specialized type of progenitor cell that is exclusive to mammals with a folded ce...

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is important for both structural integrity and functions of the brain. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play major roles in ECM-remodeling under both physiological and pathological conditions. Reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with Kazal motifs (Reck) is a membrane-anchored MMP-regulator implicated in coordinated regulation of pericellular proteolysis. Alth...

Most mammalian brain cells develop from neural progenitor or stem cells that reside in the ventricular and subventricular zone. Interestingly, in rodents and primates, neurogenesis does not end when the olfactory bulb reaches adult size but rather continues throughout life (Kaplan et al., 1985; Kuhn et al., 1996; Pencea et al., 2001). For neurons at two locations in the olfactory bulb, the gran...

At the lateral wall of the lateral ventricles in the adult rodent brain, neuroblasts form an extensive network of elongated cell aggregates called chains in the subventricular zone and migrate toward the olfactory bulb. The molecular mechanisms regulating this migration of neuroblasts are essentially unknown. Here, we report a novel role for cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5), a neuronal protein ...

In the present study, we transplanted adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells into the hippocampi of APP/PS1 transgenic Alzheimer's disease model mice. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that the number of newly generated (BrdU(+)) cells in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus was significantly higher in Alzheimer's disease mice after adipose-derived mesenchymal stem ce...

This article analyzes the mechanisms underlying the potentiation of functional recovery poststroke by cell-based and pharmacologic agents, which amplify endogenous neurogenesis in the subventricular zone and angiogenesis in the border of the ischemic lesion in the animal. Discussion of the interaction between angiogenesis and neurogenesis is provided and data are described demonstrating a role ...

There have been many attempts at slowing down or even reversing the neurodegenerative process of Parkinson's disease (PD). To date, there are no treatments of proven value in this regard. One underexplored route to slow the neurodegenerative process is the use of agents that may stimulate neurogenesis in the subventricular zone. In animal models of PD, PDGF-BB has been shown to restore/protect ...