Cytoarchitecture of the Lateral Ganglionic Eminence and Rostral Extension of the Lateral Ventricle in the Human Fetal Brain

The fetal development of the anterior subventricular zone (SVZ) involves the transformation of radial glia into neural stem cells, in addition to the migration of neuroblasts from the SVZ towards different regions in the brain. In adult rodents this migration from the anterior SVZ is restricted to the olfactory bulb following a rostral migratory stream (RMS) formed by chains of migratory neuroblasts. Similar to rodents, an RMS has been suggested in the adult human brain, where the SVZ remains as an active proliferative region. Nevertheless, a human fetal RMS has not been described and the presence of migratory neuroblasts in the adult remains controversial. Here we describe the cytoarchitecture of the human SVZ at the lateral ganglionic eminence late in the second trimester of development (23-24 weeks postconception). Cell organization in this region is heterogeneous along the ventricular wall, with GFAP-positive cells aligned to the ventricle. These cells coexpress markers for radial glia like GFAP delta, nestin, and vimentin. We also show the presence of abundant migratory neuroblasts in the anterior horn SVZ forming structures here denominated cell throngs. Interestingly, a ventral extension of the lateral ventricle suggests the presence of a putative RMS. Nevertheless, in the olfactory bulb neuroblast throngs or chain-like structures were not observed. The lack of these structures closer to the olfactory bulb could indicate a destination for the migratory neuroblasts outside the olfactory bulb in the human brain. J. Comp. Neurol. 519: 1165-1180, 2011. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.