Evidence of functional duplicity of Nestin expression in the adult mouse midbrain

Abstract

Whether or not neurogenesis occurs in the adult substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) is an important question relevant for developing better treatments for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Although controversial, it is generally believed that dividing cells here remain undifferentiated or differentiate into glia, not neurons. However, there is a suggestion that Nestin-expressing neural precursor cells (NPCs) in the adult SNc have a propensity to differentiate into neurons, which we sought to confirm in the present study. Adult (> 8-weeks old) transgenic NesCreERT2/GtROSA or NesCreERT2/R26eYFP mice were used to permanently label Nestin-expressing cells and their progeny with β-..