Endogenous neurogenesis in adult mammals after spinal cord injury

Abstract

During the whole life cycle of mammals, new neurons are constantly regenerated in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus and in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles. Thanks to emerging methodologies, great progress has been made in the characterization of spinal cord endogenous neural stem cells (ependymal cells) and identification of their role in adult spinal cord development. As recently evidenced, both the intrinsic and extrinsic molecular mechanisms of ependymal cells control the sequential steps of the adult spinal cord neurogenesis. This review introduces the concept of adult endogenous neurogenesis, the reaction of ependymal cells after adult spinal cord injury (SCI), the heterogeneity and markers of ependymal cells, the factors that regulate ependymal cells, and the niches that impact the activation or differentiation of ependymal cells.