Abstract
BackgroundRecovery following stroke depends on cellular plasticity in the perilesional zone (PZ). Doublecortin (DCX), a protein mainly labeling immature neurons in neurogenic niches is also highly expressed in the vicinity of focal cortical infarcts. Notably, the number of DCX+ cells positively correlates with the recovery of functional deficits after stroke though the nature and origin of these cells remains unclear.ResultsIn the present study, we aimed to characterize the population of DCX+ cells in the vicinity of ischemic infarcts in a mouse model in detail. Employing a photothrombosis model, distinct immunohistochemical techniques, stereology and confocal microscopy, we show that: i) DCX+ cells in the perilesional zone do not constitute a homogenous population and two cell types, stellate and polar cells can be distinguished according to their morphology. ii) Stellate cells are mainly located in the lateral and medial vicinity of the insult and express astrocytic markers. iii) Polar cells are found almost exclusively in the corpus callosum region including in the preserved deep cortical layers close to the subventricular zone (SVZ). Further, they do not show any colocalisation of glial markers. Polar morphology and distribution suggest a migration towards the lesion.ConclusionsIn summary, our findings provide evidence that in mice DCX+ cells in the perilesional zone of cortical infarcts comprise a distinct cell population and the majority of cells are of glial nature.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12868-015-0160-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Recovery following stroke depends on cellular plasticity in the perilesional zone (PZ)
DCX is still expressed by immature neurons within the neurogenic niches, in the dentate gyrus (DG) and in the subventricular zone (SVZ)
Our findings provide evidence that in a murine model of focal ischemia, the majority of DCX+ cells in the perilesional zone are of glial nature
Summary
Recovery following stroke depends on cellular plasticity in the perilesional zone (PZ). The numbers of DCX+ cells in the infarct vicinity positively correlate with the recovery of functional deficits [7]. Transgenic conditional ablation of DCX worsens stroke outcome both in the short and long term on a consistent basis [8,9] It remains unclear which cells in the perilesional zone (PZ) express DCX. A few studies provide evidence of neuroblast migration from the subventricular zone as well as of the rostral migratory stream towards the lesion [5,10,11] Both the extent and distribution of DCX expression raise doubts on whether the majority of DCX+ cells in the infarct vicinity migrate from the SVZ. It is more likely that local residing cells (e.g. neuronal or glial cells) are stimulated to express DCX following ischemia
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