Hydrocephalic hyh mice are born with moderate hydrocephalus and a normal cerebral aqueduct. At about the fifth postnatal day the aqueduct becomes obliterated and severe hydrocephalus develops. The aim of the present investigation was to investigate the mechanism of this hydrocephalus, probably starting during fetal life when the cerebral aqueduct is still patent. By use of immunocytochemistry and scanning electron microscopy, mutant (n = 54) and normal (n = 61) hyh mouse embryos were studied at various developmental stages to trace the earliest microscopic changes occurring in the brains of embryos becoming hydrocephalic. The primary defect begins at an early developmental stage (E-12) and involves cells lining the brain cavities, which detach following a well-defined temporo-spatial pattern. This ependymal denudation mostly involves the ependyma of the basal plate derivatives. There is a relationship between ependymal denudation and ependymal differentiation evaluated by the expression of vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein. The ependymal cells had a normal appearance before and after detachment, suggesting that their separation from the ventricular wall might be due to abnormalities in cell adhesion molecules. The process of detachment of the ventral ependyma, clearly visualized under scanning electron microscope, is almost completed before the onset of hydrocephalus. Furthermore, this ependymal denudation does not lead to aqueductal stenosis during prenatal life. Thus, the rather massive ependymal denudation appears to be the trigger of hydrocephalus in this mutant mouse, raising the question about the mechanism responsible for this hydrocephalus. It seems likely that an uncontrolled bulk flow of brain fluid through the extended areas devoid of ependyma may be responsible for the hydrocephalus developed by the hyh mutant embryos. The defect in these embryos also includes loss of the hindbrain floor plate and a delayed in the expression of Reissner fiber glycoproteins by the subcommissural organ.

Olfactory mucosal (OM) tissue, a potential source of stem cells, is currently being assessed in the clinic as a candidate tissue for transplant‐mediated repair of spinal cord injury. We examined the ability of embryonic rat OM tissue to generate stem cells using culture conditions known to promote neural stem cell proliferation. Primary spheres formed that proliferated and exhibited two main morphologies: (a) CNS neurosphere‐like (OM‐I) and (b) small, tight spheroid‐like (OM‐II). The OM‐I spheres expressed the neural stem cell marker nestin but also markers of peripheral glia, neurons, and connective tissue. Further studies demonstrated the presence of multipotential mesenchymal‐like stem cells within OM‐I spheres that differentiated into bone, adipose, and smooth muscle cells. In contrast, the OM‐II spheres contained mainly cytokeratin‐expressing cells. Immunolabeling of rat olfactory tissue with Stro‐1, CD90, and CD105 showed the presence of multipotent mesenchymal cells in the lamina propria, whereas cytokeratin was expressed by the epithelial cells of the olfactory epithelium. In addition, a comparable pattern of immunoreactivity was detected in human tissue using Stro‐1 and cytokeratin, suggesting the presence of similar cells in this tissue. The identification of a nonepithelial multipotent cell in the OM may explain the varied reports on olfactory stem cell differentiation capacity in vitro and in vivo and illustrates the cellular complexity of this tissue as a potential source of stem cells for transplantation and translation to the clinic. STEM CELLS 2009;27:2196–2208

Two phases may be recognized in the development of congenital hydrocephalus in the hyh mutant mouse. During embryonic life the detachment of the ventral ependyma is followed by a moderate hydrocephalus. During the first postnatal week the cerebral aqueduct becomes obliterated and a severe hydrocephalus develops. The aim of the present investigation was to elucidate the cellular phenomena occurring at the site of aqueduct obliteration and the probable participation of the subcommissural organ in this process. Electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, and lectin histochemistry were used to investigate the aqueduct of normal and hydrocephalic hyh mice from embryonic day 14 (E-14) to postnatal day 7 (PN-7). In the normal hyh mouse, the aqueduct is an irregularly shaped cavity with 3 distinct regions (rostral, middle, and caudal) lined by various types of ependyma. In the hydrocephalic mouse, these 3 regions behave differently; the rostral end becomes stenosed, the middle third dilates, and the caudal end obliterates. The findings indicate that the following sequence of events lead to hydrocephalus: 1) denudation of the ventral ependyma (embryonic life); 2) denudation of dorsal ependyma and failure of the subcommissural organ to form Reissner fiber (first postnatal week); 3) obliteration of distal end of aqueduct; and 4) severe hydrocephalus. No evidence was obtained that NCAM is involved in the detachment of ependymal cells. The process of ependymal denudation would involve alterations of the surface sialoglycoproteins of the ependymal cells and the interaction of the latter with macrophages.

Adult neurogenesis is tightly regulated through the interaction of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSCs) with their niche. Neurotransmitters, including GABA activation of GABA A receptor ion channels, are important niche signals. We show that adult mouse hippocampal NSCs and their progeny express metabotropic GABA B receptors. Pharmacological inhibition of GABA B receptors stimulated NSC proliferation and genetic deletion of GABA B1 receptor subunits increased NSC proliferation and differentiation of neuroblasts in vivo. Cell-specific conditional deletion of GABA B receptors supports a cellautonomous role in newly generated cells. Our data indicate that signaling through GABA B receptors is an inhibitor of adult neurogenesis.

Proprotein convertases (PC) activate precursor proteins that play crucial roles in various cancers. In this study, we investigated whether PC enzyme activity is required for expression of the checkpoint protein programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) on cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in colon cancer. Although altered expression of the PC secretory pathway was observed in human colon cancers, only furin showed highly diffuse expression throughout the tumors. Inhibition of PCs in T cells using the general protein-based inhibitor a1-PDX or the pharmacologic inhibitor Decanoyl-Arg-Val-Lys-Arg-chloromethylketone repressed PD-1 and exhausted CTLs via induction of T-cell proliferation and apoptosis inhibition, which improved CTL efficacy against microsatellite instable and microsatellite stable colon cancer cells. In vivo, inhibition of PCs enhanced CTL infiltration in colorectal tumors and increased tumor clearance in syngeneic mice compared with immunodeficient mice. Inhibition of PCs repressed PD-1 expression by blocking proteolytic maturation of the Notch precursor, inhibiting calcium/NFAT and NF-kB signaling, and enhancing ERK activation. These findings define a key role for PCs in regulating PD-1 expression and suggest targeting PCs as an adjunct approach to colorectal tumor immunotherapy.