Neural Stem Cells/Neuronal Precursor Cells and Postmitotic Neuroblasts in Constitutive Neurogenesis and After ,Traumatic Injury to the Mesencephalic Tegmentum of Juvenile Chum Salmon, Oncorhynchus keta

Abstract

The proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs)/neuronal precursor cells (NPCs) and the occurrence of postmitotic neuroblasts in the mesencephalic tegmentum of intact juvenile chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, and at 3 days after a tegmental injury, were studied by immunohistochemical labeling. BrdU+ constitutive progenitor cells located both in the periventricular matrix zone and in deeper subventricular and parenchymal layers of the brain are revealed in the tegmentum of juvenile chum salmon. As a result of traumatic damage to the tegmentum, the proliferation of resident progenitor cells of the neuroepithelial type increases. Nestin-positive and vimentin-positive NPCs and granules located in the periventricular and subventricular matrix zones, as well as in the parenchymal regions of the tegmentum, are revealed in the mesencephalic tegmentum of juvenile chum salmon, which indicates a high level of constructive metabolism and constitutive neurogenesis. The expression of vimentin and nestin in the extracellular space, as well as additionally in the NSCs and NPCs of the neuroepithelial phenotype, which do not express nestin in the control animals, is enhanced during the traumatic process. As a result of the proliferation of such cells in the post-traumatic period, local Nes+ and Vim+ NPCs clusters are formed and become involved in the reparative response. Along with the primary traumatic lesion, which coincides with the injury zone, additional Nes+ and Vim+ secondary lesions are observed to form in the adjacent subventricular and parenchymal zones of the tegmentum. In the lateral tegmentum, the number of doublecortin-positive cells is higher compared to that in the medial tegmentum, which determines the different intensities and rates of neuronal differentiation in the sensory and motor regions of the tegmentum, respectively. In periventricular regions remote from the injury, the expression of doublecortin in single cells and their groups significantly increases compared to that in the damage zone.