Caffeine alters proliferation of neuronal precursors in the adult hippocampus.

Neurogenesis continues through adulthood in the hippocampus and olfactory bulb of mammals. Adult neurogenesis has been implicated in learning and memory, and linked with depression. Hippocampal neurogenesis is increased in response to a number of stimuli, including exposure to an enriched environment, increased locomotor activity, and administration of antidepressants. Adult neurogenesis is depressed in response to aging, stress and sleep deprivation. Intriguingly, caffeine modulates a number of these same stimuli in a dose dependent manner. We examined the dose and duration dependent effects of caffeine on the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of newly generated hippocampal neurons in adult mice. Extended, 7 day caffeine administration, alters the proliferation of adult hippocampal precursors in the mouse in a dose dependent manner; moderate to high doses (20-30 mg/kg per day) of caffeine depress proliferation while supraphysiological doses (60 mg/kg per day) increase proliferation of neuronal precursors. Acute, 1 day administration had no affect on proliferation. Caffeine administration does not affect the expression of early or late markers of neuronal differentiation, or rates of long-term survival. However, neurons induced in response to supraphysiological levels of caffeine have a lower survival rate than control cells; increased proliferation does not yield an increase in long-term neurogenesis. These results demonstrate that physiologically relevant doses of caffeine can significantly depress adult hippocampal neurogenesis.

Transplanted neurons form both normal and ectopic projections in the adult brain.

Transplantation of embryonic or stem cell derived neurons has been proposed as a potential therapy for several neurological diseases. Previous studies reported that transplanted embryonic neurons extended long-distance projections through the adult brain exclusively to appropriate targets. We transplanted E14 lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE) and E15 cortical precursors from embryonic mice into the intact adult brain and analyzed the projections formed by transplanted neurons. In contrast to previous studies, we found that transplanted embryonic neurons formed distinct long-distance projections to both appropriate and ectopic targets. LGE neurons transplanted into the adult striatum formed projections not only to the substantia nigra, a normal target, but also to the claustrum and through all layers of fronto-orbital cortex, regions that do not normally receive striatal input. In some cases, inappropriate projections outnumbered appropriate projections. To examine the relationship between the donor cells and host brain in establishing the pattern of projections, we transplanted cortical precursors into the adult striatum. Despite their heterotopic location, cortical precursors not only predominantly formed projections appropriate for cortical neurons, but they also formed projections to inappropriate targets. Transplantation of GFP-expressing cells into beta-galactosidase-expressing mice confirmed that the axonal projections were not created by the fusion of donor and host cells. These results suggest that repairing the brain using transplantation may be more complicated than previously expected, because exuberant ectopic projections could result in brain dysfunction. Understanding the signals regulating axonal extension in the adult brain will be necessary to harness stem cells or embryonic neurons for effective neuronal-replacement therapies.

Adult-born and preexisting olfactory granule neurons undergo distinct experience-dependent modifications of their olfactory responses in vivo.

Neurogenesis continues throughout adulthood in the mammalian olfactory bulb and hippocampal dentate gyrus, suggesting the hypothesis that recently generated, adult-born neurons contribute to neural plasticity and learning. To explore this hypothesis, we examined whether olfactory experience modifies the responses of adult-born neurons to odorants, using immediate early genes (IEGs) to assay the response of olfactory granule neurons. We find that, shortly after they differentiate and synaptically integrate, the population of adult-born olfactory granule neurons has a greater population IEG response to novel odors than mature, preexisting neurons. Familiarizing mice with test odors increases the response of the recently incorporated adult-born neuron population to the test odors, and this increased responsiveness is long lasting, demonstrating that the response of the adult-born neuron population is altered by experience. In contrast, familiarizing mice with test odors decreases the IEG response of developmentally generated neurons, suggesting that recently generated adult-born neurons play a distinct role in olfactory processing. The increased IEG response is stimulus specific; familiarizing mice with a set of different, "distractor" odors does not increase the adult-born neuron population response to the test odors. Odor familiarization does not influence the survival of adult-born neurons, indicating that the changes in the population response of adult-born neurons are not attributable to increased survival of odor-stimulated neurons. These results demonstrate that recently generated adult-born olfactory granule neurons and older, preexisting granule neurons undergo contrasting experience-dependent modifications in vivo and support the hypothesis that adult-born neurons are involved in olfactory learning.

Neurogenesis of corticospinal motor neurons extending spinal projections in adult mice.

The adult mammalian CNS shows a very limited capacity to regenerate after injury. However, endogenous precursors, or stem cells, provide a potential source of new neurons in the adult brain. Here, we induce the birth of new corticospinal motor neurons (CSMN), the CNS neurons that die in motor neuron degenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and that cause loss of motor function in spinal cord injury. We induced synchronous apoptotic degeneration of CSMN and examined the fates of newborn cells arising from endogenous precursors, using markers for DNA replication, neuroblast migration, and progressive neuronal differentiation, combined with retrograde labeling from the spinal cord. We observed neuroblasts entering the neocortex and progressively differentiating into mature pyramidal neurons in cortical layer V. We found 20-30 new neurons per mm(3) in experimental mice vs. 0 in controls. A subset of these newborn neurons projected axons into the spinal cord and survived >56 weeks. These results demonstrate that endogenous precursors can differentiate into even highly complex long-projection CSMN in the adult mammalian brain and send new projections to spinal cord targets, suggesting that molecular manipulation of endogenous neural precursors in situ may offer future therapeutic possibilities for motor neuron degenerative disease and spinal cord injury.

The repair of complex neuronal circuitry by transplanted and endogenous precursors.

During the past three decades, research exploring potential neuronal replacement therapies has focused on replacing lost neurons by transplanting cells or grafting tissue into diseased regions of the brain. However, in the last decade, the development of novel approaches has resulted in an explosion of new research showing that neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons, normally occurs in two limited and specific regions of the adult mammalian brain, and that there are significant numbers of multipotent neural precursors in many parts of the adult mammalian brain. Recent advances in our understanding of related events of neural development and plasticity, including the role of radial glia in developmental neurogenesis, and the ability of endogenous precursors present in the adult brain to be induced to produce neurons and partially repopulate brain regions affected by neurodegenerative processes, have led to fundamental changes in the views about how the brain develops, as well as to approaches by which transplanted or endogenous precursors might be used to repair the adult brain. For example, recruitment of new neurons can be induced in a region-specific, layer-specific, and neuronal type-specific manner, and, in some cases, newly recruited neurons can form long-distance connections to appropriate targets. Elucidation of the relevant molecular controls may both allow control over transplanted precursor cells and potentially allow for the development of neuronal replacement therapies for neurodegenerative disease and other CNS injuries that might not require transplantation of exogenous cells.

Constitutive and induced neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain: manipulation of endogenous precursors toward CNS repair.

Over most of the past century of modern neuroscience, it was thought that the adult brain was completely incapable of generating new neurons. During the past 3 decades, research exploring potential neuronal replacement therapies has focused on replacing lost neurons by transplanting cells or grafting tissue into diseased regions of the brain. However, in the last decade, the development of new techniques has resulted in an explosion of new research showing that neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons, normally occurs in two limited and specific regions of the adult mammalian brain and that there are significant numbers of multipotent neural precursors in many parts of the adult mammalian brain. Recent advances in our understanding of related events of neural development and plasticity, including the role of radial glia in developmental neurogenesis and the ability of endogenous precursors present in the adult brain to be induced to produce neurons and partially repopulate brain regions affected by neurodegenerative processes, have led to fundamental changes in the views about how the brain develops as well as to approaches by which endogenous precursors might be recruited to repair the adult brain. Recruitment of new neurons can be induced in a region-specific, layer-specific and neuronal-type-specific manner, and, in some cases, newly recruited neurons can form long-distance connections to appropriate targets. Elucidation of the relevant molecular controls may both allow control over transplanted precursor cells and potentially allow the development of neuronal replacement therapies for neurodegenerative disease and other CNS injuries that do not require transplantation of exogenous cells.