Abstract
In the developing central nervous system, most neurogenesis occurs in the ventricular and subventricular proliferative zones. In the adult telencephalon, neurogenesis contracts to the subependyma zone and the dentate gyrus (subgranular zone) of the hippocampus. These restricted niches containing progenitor cells which divide to produce neurons or glia, depending on the intrinsic and environmental cues. Neurogenic niches are characterized by a comparatively high vascular density and, in many cases, interaction with the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Both the vasculature and the CSF represent a source of signaling molecules, which can be relatively rapidly modulated by external factors and circulated through the central nervous system. As the brain develops, there is vascular remodeling and a compartmentalization and dynamic modification of the ventricular surface which may be responsible for the change in the proliferative properties. This review will explore the relationship between progenitor cells and the developing vascular and ventricular space. In particular the signaling systems employed to control proliferation, and the consequence of abnormal vascular or ventricular development on growth of the telencephalon. It will also discuss the potential significance of the barriers at the vascular and ventricular junctions in the influence of the proliferative niches.
Introduction
It is essential that an organ and its blood supply should develop together in synchrony to allow optimal conditions for the different stages of growth, differentiation and changing functional requirements. This co-dependence is particularly evident in the brain, where the vascular network originates from the peri-neural vascular plexus in early embryonic development and undergoes multiple stages of remodeling to meet the changing needs of the complex developing environment (Bautch and James, ). Barrier functions of the neurovasculature start from the earliest stages of development and are coupled with other aspects of vascular and neuro development (Ruhrberg and Bautch, ).
Close examination of developing brain has led to the hypothesis that signals from the brain parenchyma itself regulate the sites of penetrance by the pioneering vascular branches from the peri-neural plexus, and there is now increasing evidence that variations in normal brain growth can alter the vasculature (Vasudevan et al., ) in the same way that altered vascular development affects neural patterning (Javaherian and Kriegstein, ). This is, at least partly, due to the presence of a variety of co-signaling systems, e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Notch, Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) and their receptors, which clearly have a role in both the developing neural system as well as the developing vascular system. The involvement of signaling molecules in the neural and vascular systems, while implying close interaction between vascular and neural development, also makes independent manipulation of the systems difficult, and therefore determination of cause and effect in vascular and neural developmental processes is an intractable issue.
During development, the primary regions of proliferation are the ventricular and subventricular zones (VZ and SVZ, respectively, see Figure 1). These are substantive pools of progenitor cells which over time gradually become restricted in their differentiation capacity, and which ultimately produce the diverse neuronal populations of the brain as well as most of the glial cells. In the adult brain (see Figure 2), the proliferative zones are confined to two main areas of the brain, the subependymal zone (SEZ, also called the adult SVZ) and the subgranular zone (SGZ), and the progenitor cells have a more restricted potential fate.
Figure 1
Figure 2
The relationship between neural progenitors and the vasculature has been extensively described, for both the adult SEZ (Shen et al.,
The structure and location of the proliferative zones suggest a second regulator of the neurogenic niche, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Both the VZ in the developing brain and the SEZ in the adult have close association with the ventricular surface and the CSF. Therefore, in addition to proliferative support from the cerebrovasculature, trophic regulation/modulation is thought to come from the CSF (Dziegielewska et al.,
The vasculature in the brain is specialized compared to that of the rest of the body. The presence of the blood-brain barrier means there is a tighter control of brain microenvironment as there is limited paracellular transport and reduced vesicular transport of molecules from the blood into the brain. The composition of the CSF is also tightly controlled, in this case by the choroid plexus. The presence of a structural and functional barrier at the epithelial interface of the choroid plexus with the CSF is an essential element of this control. During development, the composition of the CSF is very dynamic, and is considered to be an important for the regulation of a number of neurodevelopmental processed. The specifics of CSF composition regulation and the role of the blood-CSF barrier is beyond the scope of this work, readers are directed to recent reviews by Bueno et al. (
Very few studies have assessed whether the brain barriers actively control progenitor proliferation in neurogenic niches within the brain, but it is likely that at the least the presence of these barriers make an important contribution to the signaling environment of the neurovascular niches. In the case of the VZ, the developmental barrier between the brain and the CSF (Mollgard et al.,
In this review we will explore the intertwined development of the vasculature and the progenitor pools in the developing brain, the signaling systems common to all neurogenic niches and whether the brain- barrier systems at the endothelial cell and ventricular surface contribute to the control of these specialized brain regions.
Regulation of vascular growth and barrier formation in the brain
The blood vessel ingrowth from the peri-neural plexus (as shown in Figure 1) to the brain parenchyma is regulated by a number of signaling cues from the parenchyma itself. VEGF signaling is of particular importance, with James et al. (
Vasudevan et al. (
Sonic hedgehog (Shh) is a major signaling molecule that regulates both vascular and neural development and may be important in the establishment of the neurovascular niche. Shh has a clear role in regulating neural development, and in the dorsal cortex conditional knockout of Shh or its receptor Smoothened (Smo) results in reduced cell division, and a smaller cortex (Komada et al.,
β-catenin and the Wnt signaling pathway also affect vessel ingrowth from the peri-neural plexus and the structure of the developing vessels. Endothelial specific modifications of β-catenin expression, Wnt7 knockout or delivery of the soluble frizzled-8 receptor to bind extracellular Wnt ligand all cause a disruption in the vascular ingrowth into the parenchyma and malformation of the vessel beds, characterized by enlarged vascular space and thickening of the vascular wall with multiple layers of endothelial cells (Stenman et al.,
Contact-dependent signaling is another local environmental regulator of growth. McCarty et al. (
Vascular control of neural proliferation
In turn, vascular development can control proliferation and brain development. For example, ectopic vascular development, induced by in utero injection of VEGF into the dorsal cortex, causes a change in distribution of the Tbr2 positive SVZ progenitor cells in conjunction with the new vascular network, and a disruption of radial fibers and axonal ingrowth into the surrounding tissue (Javaherian and Kriegstein,
There are certainly many studies showing both secreted protein from endothelial cells, and progenitor-endothelial cell contact is important for maintain proliferation in the SEZ. Transplant studies of neural precursor cells into the SEZ have shown that the chemokine cxcl12, which is produced by endothelial cells, is important for the localization of these cells to the vasculature. Cxcl12 appears to act through the activation of integrin that allows cell binding to the endothelial cell wall, and support migration of differentiating cells out of the SEZ (Kokovay et al.,
Vascular production of VEGF is likely to be due to HIF activation in response to the low oxygen environment of the developing brain. HIF knockout in neural crest cells leads to reduced vascular density in the developing brain, and gross abnormalities in cellular migration (Tomita et al.,
Recent work has provided evidence in support of a further neurogenic niche in the adult brain, that of perivascular stem cells that do not proliferate in control conditions, but are upregulated following injury, such as ischemia (Ohira et al.,
Role of cell-to-cell contacts in regulation of proliferation
In addition to secreted signaling to neural precursors, the endothelial cells may also support the progenitor population in a contact-dependent manner (contact between type B and endothelial cells in the SEZ is shown in Figure 2). Ephrin and notch signaling have both been shown to be activated by contact between type B progenitors and endothelial cells (Ottone et al.,
While the ventricular zone in the developing brain is characterized by specialized junctions between the neuroepithelial cells, there are no such junctions between the ependymal cells that make the border with the CSF in the adult SEZ. The absence of these junctions between the ependymal cells appears to be very important for the structure of the SEZ, as progenitor cells are intercalated between the ependymal cells (Shen et al.,
CSF-neurogenic niche
Both the VZ in the developing brain and the SEZ in the adult brain have clear connections with the CSF (see Figures 1, 2), and it has been shown that the CSF contains many trophic factors important for regulating proliferation in these zones (Johansson et al.,
The possibility that systemic signaling may directly alter the neurogenic niche has been explored by a number of authors, and it is clear that signaling through inflammatory pathways can cause short- and long-term changes in proliferation in the brain (Stolp et al.,
Conclusion
Both the CSF and the vasculature of the brain provide regulatory niches for neurogenesis in the developing and adult brain. Variation in angiogenesis and CSF production clearly affect proliferation in the neurogenic niches as a result of cross-talk between these regions, which appears to be dependent both on secreted tropic factors and contact-dependent signaling pathways. The brain barriers, which regulate the internal environment and contribute to the contact between cells in the neurogenic niches are part of this complex system that can be altered both in systemic and central injury. The localization of neurogenic niches makes them sensitive to circulating soluble factors. Recent work from Villeda et al. (
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Statements
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
- CSF
cerebrospinal fluid
- SEZ
subependymal zone/also called the adult SVZ
- SGZ
subgranular zone
- Shh
sonic hedgehog
- Smo
smoothened receptor
- SVZ
subventricular zone
- VCAM
vascular cell adhesion molecule
- VEGF
vascular endothelial growth factor
- VZ
ventricular zone.
Abbreviations
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Summary
Keywords
neurogenesis, neuronal progenitors, neurogenic niche, blood-brain barrier, cerebrovasculature, cerebrospinal fluid, choroid plexus
Citation
Stolp HB and Molnár Z (2015) Neurogenic niches in the brain: help and hindrance of the barrier systems. Front. Neurosci. 9:20. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00020
Received
30 September 2014
Accepted
13 January 2015
Published
03 February 2015
Volume
9 - 2015
Edited by
Joana A. Palha, University of Minho, Portugal
Reviewed by
Isabel Farinas, Universidad de Valencia, Spain; Joao C. Sousa, University of Minho, Portugal
Copyright
© 2015 Stolp and Molnár.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Helen B. Stolp, Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, Level 1, 1st Floor, South Wing, St Thomas' Hospital, King's College London, London, SE1 7EH, UK e-mail: helen.stolp@kcl.ac.uk
This article was submitted to Neurogenomics, a section of the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.
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