The subependymal zone: "brain marrow"

From all of the studies of developmentally regulated molecules as well as the impressive proliferation of cells within the SEZ, we would like to propose that the SEZ of the adult brain, from the lateral ventricles of the cerebrum to the central canal of the spinal cord, represents a potential "brain marrow" from which stem and progenitor cells can be further studied and exploited for cell replacement and circuitry repair paradigms for neurological disease. Without question the SEZ is not as regenerative or pleuripotential as bone marrow or other hematopoietic systems, but there are definitely some elements in common. Bone marrow contains a pleuripotent stem cell that under certain conditions (e.g. the presence of certain growth factors and cytokines) gives rise to erythroblasts and myeloblasts whose progeny include erythrocytes, monocytes, thrombocytes and macrophages. Different growth factors can likewise affect the proliferation as well as differentiation of adult CNS stem and progenitor cells, again contributing to diverse cellular phenotypes. The roles for matrix molecules in these events are yet to be discovered, however, there is evidence to suggest that matrix molecules, including tenascin, do interact with hematopoietic stem cells (Yoder and Williams, 1995) to possibly affect their proliferation and differentiation. Future studies might reveal a similar role for the dense ECM expression within the SEZ proliferative/migratory pathway.