Neocortical glial cell numbers in human brains

Pelvig, Dorte P.; Pakkenberg, H.; Stark, A.K.; Pakkenberg, Bente

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.04.013

Cited by 499 publications

(454 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

405

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Although these outcomes are plausible, they are difficult to verify because they were obtained on only one neocortex and there are only few previous studies concerning spatial distribution of cells in healthy human neocortex they could be compared against. Still, the densities found in the present study are within the same ranges as reported earlier for both neurons (Pakkenberg & Gundersen, 1997) and glial cells (Pelvig et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

The saucor, a new stereological tool for analysing the spatial distributions of cells, exemplified by human neocortical neurons and glial cells

Stark

Gundersen

Gardi

et al. 2010

Journal of Microscopy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary The 3D spatial arrangement of particles or cells, for example glial cells, with respect to other particles or cells, for example neurons, can be characterized by the radial number density function, which expresses the number density of so‐called ‘secondary’ particles as a function of their distance to a ‘primary’ particle. The present paper introduces a new stereological method, the saucor, for estimating the radial number density using thick isotropic uniform random or vertical uniform random sections. In the first estimation step, primary particles are registered in a disector. Subsequently, smaller counting windows are drawn with random orientation around every primary particle, and the positions of all secondary particles within the windows are recorded. The shape of the counting windows is designed such that a large portion of the volume close to the primary particle is examined and a smaller portion of the volume as the distance to the primary object increases. The experimenter can determine the relation between these volumina as a function of the distance by adjusting the parameters of the window graph, and thus reach a good balance between workload and obtained information. Estimation formulae based on the Horvitz–Thompson theorem are derived for both isotropic uniform random and vertical uniform random designs. The method is illustrated with an example where the radial number density of neurons and glial cells around neurons in the human neocortex is estimated using thick vertical sections for light microscopy. The results indicate that the glial cells are clustered around the neurons and the neurons have a tendency towards repulsion from each other.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

The saucor, a new stereological tool for analysing the spatial distributions of cells, exemplified by human neocortical neurons and glial cells

Stark

Gundersen

Gardi

et al. 2010

Journal of Microscopy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This means that a single astrocyte contacts a group of neurons and their synapses, suggesting that in this region of the encephalon, the number of neurons must be larger than the number of astrocytes. In fact, Pelvig et al have estimated that the percentage of astrocytes within the human cortex is only 20% of all glial cells residing in that structure 24 .…”

Section: Anatomic Phylogenetic Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are astrocytes executive cells within the central nervous system?

Sica

Caccuri

Quarracino

et al. 2016

Arq. Neuro-Psiquiatr.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Experimental evidence suggests that astrocytes play a crucial role in the physiology of the central nervous system (CNS) by modulating synaptic activity and plasticity. Based on what is currently known we postulate that astrocytes are fundamental, along with neurons, for the information processing that takes place within the CNS. On the other hand, experimental findings and human observations signal that some of the primary degenerative diseases of the CNS, like frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s dementia, Huntington’s dementia, primary cerebellar ataxias and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, all of which affect the human species exclusively, may be due to astroglial dysfunction. This hypothesis is supported by observations that demonstrated that the killing of neurons by non-neural cells plays a major role in the pathogenesis of those diseases, at both their onset and their progression. Furthermore, recent findings suggest that astrocytes might be involved in the pathogenesis of some psychiatric disorders as well.

show abstract

“…cortical development; ventricular zone; subventricular zone; radial glial cells; intermediate progenitor cells; precursor cells; neurogenesis; mitosis; cleavage plane; asymmetric division; symmetric division; neural stem cells; self-renewal; self-renewing divisions; mode of division The human cerebral cortex consists of ≈50-60 billion neurons and glia (Pelvig et al, 2007), with each classified into numerous subtypes (Peters and Jones, 1984). Regulation of the mode of cell division is required to properly amplify cell numbers through symmetric divisions and diversify cell types through asymmetric cell divisions.…”

Section: Indexing Termsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct behaviors of neural stem and progenitor cells underlie cortical neurogenesis

Noctor

Martínez‐Cerdeño

Kriegstein

2008

J of Comparative Neurology

354

341

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Neocortical precursor cells undergo symmetric and asymmetric divisions while producing large numbers of diverse cortical cell types. In Drosophila, cleavage plane orientation dictates the inheritance of fate-determinants and the symmetry of newborn daughter cells during neuroblast cell divisions. One model for predicting daughter cell fate in the mammalian neocortex is also based on cleavage plane orientation. Precursor cell divisions with a cleavage plane orientation that is perpendicular with respect to the ventricular surface (vertical) are predicted to be symmetric, while divisions with a cleavage plane orientation that is parallel to the surface (horizontal) are predicted to be asymmetric neurogenic divisions. However, analysis of cleavage plane orientation at the ventricle suggests that the number of predicted neurogenic divisions might be insufficient to produce large amounts of cortical neurons. To understand factors that correlate with the symmetry of cell divisions, we examined rat neocortical precursor cells in situ through real-time imaging, marker analysis, and electrophysiological recordings. We find that cleavage plane orientation is more closely associated with precursor cell type than with daughter cell fate, as commonly thought. Radial glia cells in the VZ primarily divide with a vertical orientation throughout cortical development and undergo symmetric or asymmetric self-renewing divisions depending on the stage of development. In contrast, most intermediate progenitor cells divide in the subventricular zone with a horizontal orientation and produce symmetric daughter cells. We propose a model for predicting daughter cell fate that considers precursor cell type, stage of development, and the planar segregation of fate determinants. Indexing termscortical development; ventricular zone; subventricular zone; radial glial cells; intermediate progenitor cells; precursor cells; neurogenesis; mitosis; cleavage plane; asymmetric division; symmetric division; neural stem cells; self-renewal; self-renewing divisions; mode of division The human cerebral cortex consists of ≈50-60 billion neurons and glia (Pelvig et al., 2007), with each classified into numerous subtypes (Peters and Jones, 1984). Regulation of the mode of cell division is required to properly amplify cell numbers through symmetric divisions and diversify cell types through asymmetric cell divisions. In Drosophila, cleavage plane orientation plays a crucial role in determining mode of division for some, but not all, precursor cell divisions. For example, in neuroblast cells a vertically oriented cleavage within the plane of the epithelium produces symmetric daughter cells, while a horizontal cleavage orientation *Current address and correspondence to: Stephen C. Noctor, PhD, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, 2825 50th St., Sacramento, CA 95817. E-mail: scnoctor@ucdavis.edu. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript produces asymmetric daughter cells based on an apico-basal segregation of...

show abstract

Neocortical glial cell numbers in human brains

Cited by 499 publications

References 34 publications

The saucor, a new stereological tool for analysing the spatial distributions of cells, exemplified by human neocortical neurons and glial cells

The saucor, a new stereological tool for analysing the spatial distributions of cells, exemplified by human neocortical neurons and glial cells

Are astrocytes executive cells within the central nervous system?

Distinct behaviors of neural stem and progenitor cells underlie cortical neurogenesis

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About