Proliferation Zones in the Brain of Adult Gymnotiform Fish: a Quantitative Mapping Study

Whereas in mammals postnatal neurogenesis, gliogenesis, and angiogenesis appear to be kept at low rates, in fish the capability for the production of new brain cells during adulthood is very pronounced. Many of the newly generated cells originate from germinal layers that maintain their proliferative activity during adulthood. By employing incorporation of the thymidine analogue 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) into mitotic active cells, we have quantitatively mapped such proliferation zones in the brain of adult Apteronotus leptorhynchus (Gymnotiformes, Teleostei). In the telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon, the total number of BrdU-labelled cells was low, making up approximately 25% of all mitotic active cells in the brain. Many of these cells were scattered over wide areas. Otherwise, zones of high proliferative activity were typically located at or near the surface of ventricular, paraventricular, and cisternal systems. Approximately 75% of all BrdU-labelled cells found in the brain of adult Apteronotus leptorhynchus were situated in the cerebellum. Zones displaying proliferative activity were restricted to small areas, such as narrow stripes around the midline of corpus cerebelli and valvula cerebelli, the boundary between corpus and valvula, and a large portion of the area covered by the eminentia granularis medialis. Counts indicate that, on average, 100,000 cells, corresponding to approximately 0.2% of the total population of cells in the brain of adult Apteronotus leptorhynchus, are in S-phase within a period of 2 hours. At least part of these newly generated cells is added to the population of already existing cells. This leads to a permanent growth of the brain with increasing size of the fish, a process that appears to slow down only in individuals of relatively advanced age.