Morphofunctional Transformation of Ependymocytes during the Postnatal Development of the Cerebral Ventricles in Rats

Abstract

Objectives. To study the morphometric parameters and ciliary activity of ciliated ependymocytes during the postnatal development of the cerebral ventricles. Materials and methods. Digital in vivo videomicroscopy, histological methods, and morphometry were used to study the vascular plexuses and the structural and functional characteristics of ciliated ependymocytes in biopsies of the walls of the cerebral ventricles from 109 Wistar rats during the first year of life. Results. Morphofunctional transformations of the vascular plexus and ciliated ependymocytes the cerebral ventricles of the rat brain were more marked in the first 20 days after birth. These included accelerated increases in the size of the vascular plexus, maximal values for morphometric parameters of ciliated ependymocytes and measures of their ciliary activity, and maximum rates of movement of the CSF in the wall layer as compared with animals of reproductive age. By 4–12 months, measures of ciliary clearance decreased to 30–50% of maximal in all ventricles. Conclusions. During the first 20 days of postnatal ontogeny, the cerebral ventricles in rats showed significant changes in the morphometric and functional parameters of ciliated ependymocytes, whose activity is believed to provide the mechanism producing movement of the CSF. A more efficient mechanism for CSF circulation appears by later time points in the development of the vascular plexus, so the role of the transport function of ependymocytes decreased.