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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 560/3/831    most recent jphysiol.2004.072405v1 Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Russo, R. E Articles by Trujillo-Cenóz, O. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Russo, R. E Articles by Trujillo-Cenóz, O.

¹ Unidad Asociada Neurofisiología
² Unidad Asociada Neuroanatomía Comparada
⁴ Departamento de Neuroanatomía Comparada, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), Facultad de Ciencias; Universidad de la República, Montevideo 11600, Uruguay
³ Departamento de Histología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la República; Montevideo 11800, Uruguay

In lower vertebrates, some cells contacting the central canal (CC) retain the ability to proliferate, leading the reconstruction of the spinal cord after injury. A better understanding about the nature of these cells could contribute to the development of novel strategies for spinal cord repair. Here, by combining light and electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry and patch-clamp recordings, we provide evidence supporting the presence of precursor-like cells and immature neurones contacting the CC of juvenile turtles. A class of cells expressed the ependymal and glial cell marker S100 and displayed morphological and electrophysiological features of radial glia: relatively low input resistance, high resting potential, lack of active membrane properties and extensive dye-coupling. A second class of S100 reactive cells were characterized by a higher input resistance and outward rectification. Finally, some CC-contacting cells expressed HuC/D – a marker of immature neurones – and fired action potentials. The coexistence of cells with functional properties of precursor-like cells and immature neurones suggests that the region surrounding the CC is a site of active neurogenesis. It remains to be demonstrated by lineage analysis whether, as in the embryonic cerebral cortex, radial glia are the progenitor cells in the turtle spinal cord.

(Received 21 July 2004; accepted after revision 23 August 2004; first published online 26 August 2004)
Corresponding author R. E. Russo: Unidad Asociada Neurofisiología, IIBCE, Facultad de Ciencias, Avenida Italia 3318, CP 11600, Montevideo, Uruguay. Email: rrusso{at}iibce.edu.uy

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				R. E. Russo, C. Reali, M. Radmilovich, A. Fernandez, and O. Trujillo-Cenoz Connexin 43 Delimits Functional Domains of Neurogenic Precursors in the Spinal Cord J. Neurosci., March 26, 2008; 28(13): 3298 - 3309. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]