Cell proliferation in the subependymal layer of the postnatal marmoset, Callithrix jacchus

Cells of the subependymal layer (SEL) have been shown to be capable of continued postnatal cell division throughout life in rodents. To determine if the primate brain behaves similarly, proliferative activity in the SEL of the marmoset has been investigated by tritiated thymidine autoradiography and bromodeoxyuridine immunocytochemistry. Both methods revealed the presence of DNA-synthesizing cells at all postnatal ages studied. The labelling index (LI), low at birth, reached a peak of almost 4% at one month but decreased gradually thereafter. In animals older than two years the LI was extremely low and labelled cells were rarely seen anywhere in the brain. The cell density of the SEL, in contrast to the low LI, was highest in neonates and decreased linearly with increasing age. Bromodeoxyuridine immunoreactivity revealed the distribution of proliferating cells in the SEL and neighbouring regions. Such cells were most abundant around the anterior lateral ventricle where the SEL was most evident. Proliferating cells were numerous in neonates, though not adjacent to the ependyma where counts for the LI were made, and were mainly located dorsally and ventrally at the junctions of the corpus callosum and caudate nucleus.