Phenotypic and molecular identity of cells in the adult subventricular zone:: in vivo and after expansion in vitro

We have studied the molecular identity of adult mouse SVZ cells in situ, and after isolation and expansion as neurospheres in vitro. The gene and protein expression patterns of the adult cells have been compared to that of the cells from the lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE), their putative embryonic counterparts. The LGE gives rise to both striatal projection neurons and olfactory bulb interneurons via spatially and molecularly distinct progenitor populations present in the SVZ of the LGE. These two populations are thought to have a common origin in the GSH2 expressing cells of the embryonic LGE ventricular zone. We found that a significant number of cells in the adult SVZ, and in the in vitro expanded neurospheres, derived from the adult SVZ express GSH2. However, under normal conditions, GSH2-expressing cells in the adult SVZ and in the in vitro expanded neurospheres appear to specify only olfactory bulb progenitors and not striatal progenitors. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.