Neural stem cells in the subventricular zone are resilient to hypoxia/ischemia whereas progenitors are vulnerable

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic (H/I) brain injury remains a major cause of neurologic disability. Because we have previously demonstrated that this insult depletes cells from the subventricular zone (SVZ), the goal of the present investigation was to compare the relative vulnerability to H/I of neural stem cells versus progenitors. The dorsolateral SVZs of P6 rats were examined at 2 to 48 hours of recovery from H/I using hematoxylin and eosin, in situ end labeling (ISEL), terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2'-deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL), electron microscopy, and immunofluorescence. Pyknotic nuclei and ISEL+ cells were observed by 4 hours of recovery, peaked at 12 hours, and persisted for at least 48 hours. Many active-caspase-3(+) cells were observed at 12 hours and they comprised one third of the total TUNEL+ population. Electron microscopy revealed that hybrid cell deaths predominated at 12 hours of recovery. Importantly, few dying cells were observed in the medial SVZ, where putative stem cells reside, and no nestin(+) medial SVZ cells showed caspase-3 activation. By contrast, active-caspase-3(+)/PSA-NCAM(+) progenitors were prominent in the lateral SVZ. These data demonstrate that early progenitors are vulnerable to H/I. whereas neural stem cells are resilient. The demise of these early progenitors may lead to the depletion of neuronal and late oligodendrocyte progenitors, contributing to cerebral dysgenesis after perinatal insults.