RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Aldolase C/Zebrin II Expression in the Neonatal Rat Forebrain Reveals Cellular Heterogeneity within the Subventricular Zone and Early Astrocyte Differentiation JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 6195 OP 6205 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.21-16-06195.2001 VO 21 IS 16 A1 Susan M. Staugaitis A1 Marielba Zerlin A1 Richard Hawkes A1 Joel M. Levine A1 James E. Goldman YR 2001 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/21/16/6195.abstract AB During late gestational and early postnatal development, proliferating cells in the subventricular zones of the lateral ventricles (SVZ) migrate into the gray and white matter of the forebrain and differentiate into astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Because the cellular composition and structure of the neonatal SVZ is poorly understood, we performed a differential display PCR screen to identify genes preferentially expressed therein. One highly expressed gene encoded aldolase C. We used a specific monoclonal antibody, aldolase C/zebrin II (ALDC/ZII), in combination with markers of glial lineage and proliferation, to characterize the cells that express this gene. In the neonatal SVZ, ALDC/ZII-positive cells, which are generally polygonal and display several processes, have a nonuniform spatial distribution. They do not express vimentin, GFAP, or NG2. A subset of ALDC/ZII-positive cells incorporates bromodeoxyuridine, but progenitors identified by β-galactosidase expression after infection with recombinant BAG virus do not show ALDC/ZII immunoreactivity. Outside of the SVZ, β-galactosidase-positive/ALDC/ZII-positive cells have an astrocytic phenotype, suggesting that immunoreactivity was acquired after exit from the SVZ. These studies demonstrate that the neonatal SVZ is composed of different populations of cells that can be characterized by their antigenic phenotype, their proliferative capacity, and their spatial distributions. Nonrandom distributions of different cell types within the SVZ may permit the formation of microenvironments that stimulate the production of cells with specific potentials at appropriate points in development. Analysis of ALDC/ZII expression by astrocyte lineage cells in the neonatal cerebral cortex and white matter may reveal insights into the phenotype and behavior of undifferentiated astrocyte progenitors.