[Nestin-expressing cells in the human hippocampus]

Nestin is a protein that belongs to a family of intermediate filament proteins which are typical for undifferentiated neural stem and progenitor cells. In this work nestin expression was studied in the hippocampus obtained from patients with epilepsy. Immunohistochemical investigation demonstrated five types of nestin-positive cells, differing in morphological and immunological phenotype. These included cell with a radial glia phenotype, bipolar cells, small dendritic cells, subependymal and astrocyte-like cells. Two types of these cells: radial glia of dentate gyrus and bipolar NG2+ cells can be considered as neural progenitor cells possessing different degrees of commitment.