While GFAP, for example, labels type B cells within the VZ-SVZ, GLAST is also present in a limited number of C cell progeny (Pastrana et al., 2009), possibly due to perdurance after

proliferation of the primary progenitors. Similarly, the orphan nuclear receptor Tlx, which was initially thought to be expressed only in nestin-positive type B cells (Shi et al., 2004), is also transcribed at high levels in C cells. Mash1 and EGFR are present in a limited number of B cells, and are now suggested to possibly distinguish a population of “activated” B cells in addition to the GFAP-negative C cells (Doetsch et al., 2002, Pastrana et al., 2009 and Kim et al., 2011). In addition, subsequent studies of markers that were suggested to be exclusive to the progenitor cell compartment, such as nestin, have found that these proteins are more broadly expressed within the brain (Hendrickson selleck chemicals et al., 2011). These results argue that the large number of putative stem and progenitor cell markers are likely to identify overlapping but not identical subsets of adult VZ-SVZ cells, highlighting the need for caution and accompanying functional studies when assigning biological characteristics to the stem cell population (for further discussion of this topic, see Chojnacki et al., 2009). Given that Type B1 cells have many astroglial characteristics,

finding potential markers to distinguish Type B1 cells from other nongerminal astrocytes within the SVZ and in the Proteases inhibitor brain parenchyma would be extremely useful in future studies of this region. Neural stem cells are present transiently at many locations along the developing neuraxis, as this complex tissue generates the many cell types required in the mature CNS (Alvarez-Buylla et al., 2001 and Noctor et al., 2007). At birth, the walls of the lateral ventricles still bear many similarities to the ventricular zone present in the immature neuroepithelium. They are comprised mainly of radial glia, progenitors with cell

bodies close to the ventricles and a long radial process that contacts the pial surface of the brain (Hartfuss et al., 2001 and Merkle et al., 2004). Radial glia, which function as neural stem cells (NSCs) in the embryonic and fetal brain, generate an immense diversity of neurons and glial cells within a short period of already time—days in the mouse and weeks in the human—to assemble the central nervous system (CNS). A select group of radial glia then transform into unique subpopulations of astrocytes that continue to function as primary neural progenitors during juvenile and adult life. Viral targeting of these cells via their radial processes, as well as anatomical studies, have demonstrated that during the next several days of postnatal development, the radial glia located on the walls of the lateral ventricles retract their long RC2-positive distal process, lose RC2 expression, and give rise to the type B1 astrocytes that become the slow-cycling stem cells of the VZ-SVZ (Merkle et al.