© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 55
A. Birbrair (ed.), Stem Cell Microenvironments and Beyond,
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1041,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-69194-7_5
Chapter 5
Spinal Cord Stem Cells
In Their Microenvironment: The Ependyma
as a Stem Cell Niche
Nicolás Marichal, Cecilia Reali, Omar Trujillo-Cenóz, and Raúl E. Russo
Abstract The ependyma of the spinal cord is currently proposed as a latent neural
stem cell niche. This chapter discusses recent knowledge on the developmental
origin and nature of the heterogeneous population of cells that compose this stem
cell microenviroment, their diverse physiological properties and regulation. The
chapter also reviews relevant data on the ependymal cells as a source of plasticity
for spinal cord repair.
Keywords Central canal • Progenitor cells • Neural stem cells • Radial glia • Spinal
cord • Plasticity • Regeneration
5.1 Introduction
In the adult mammalian brain, stem cells persist in the subventricular zone (SVZ)
and the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus where together with other cell
types, they form complex three dimensional microenvironments or neurogenic
niches (Alvarez-Buylla and Garcı́a-Verdugo 2002 ). The identification of similar
microenvironmental entities supporting stem cells in the spinal cord has been less
conclusive. However, the idea that the region surrounding the central canal
(CC) -commonly believed as a layer of homogeneous epithelial-like cells- is a
N. Marichal
Neurofisiología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente
Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
Institute of Physiological Chemistry, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg
University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
C. Reali • O. Trujillo-Cenóz • R.E. Russo (*)
Neurofisiología Celular y Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente
Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]