Enhanced neurogenesis in the ischemic striatum following EGF-induced expansion of transit-amplifying cells in the subventricular zone

In the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the adult mammalian brain, neural stem cells continually produce transit-amplifying precursors, which generate neuroblasts migrating into the olfactory bulb. Previous studies have suggested that SVZ cells also have the capacity to generate some striatal neurons after cerebral ischemia. The infusion of epidermal growth factor (EGF) has been demonstrated to increase the number of these regenerated neurons. However, which cell types in the SVZ are stimulated to proliferate or differentiate after EGF infusion remains unknown. In this paper, we demonstrated that cerebral ischemia results in an increase in the number of EGF receptor (EGFR)-positive transit-amplifying cells in the SVZ. EGF infusion into the ischemic brain caused the number of transit-amplifying cells to increase and the number of neuroblasts to decrease. On the other hand, after an interval of 6 days after the discontinuation of EGF infusion, a significant increase in the number of neuroblasts was found, both in the striatum and the SVZ. These results suggest that the replacement of neurons in injured striatum can be enhanced by an EGF-induced expansion of transit-amplifying cells in the SVZ.