Neurogenesis in the ependymal layer of the adult rat 3rd ventricle

Neurogenesis has been described in limited regions of the adult mammalian brain. In this study, we showed that the ependymal layer of the 3rd ventricle is a neurogenic region in the adult rat brain. DiI labeling of the 3rd ventricle revealed that neural progenitor cells were derived from cells at the ependymal layer of the adult 3rd ventricle. The mitosis of these progenitor cells at the ependymal layer was promoted by bFGF administration. Combination of BrdU administration, nestin/GFAP immunohistochemistry, and labeling by GFP-recombinant adenoviral infection (vGFP) indicated that at least some tanycytes might be neural progenitor cells in the ependymal layer of the 3rd ventricle. Tracing by vGFP indicated that neural progenitor cells may have migrated from the 3rd ventricle to the hypothalamic parenchyma, where they were integrated into neural networks by forming synapses. In addition, some BrdU ⁺ neurons had immunoreactivity for orexin A in the hypothalamus. These results indicate that neural progenitor cells exist in the ependymal layer of the adult rat 3rd ventricle and that they may differentiate into neurons functioning in the hypothalamus.