The subventricular zone (SVZ) is a region situated on the outside wall of each lateral ventricle of the vertebrate brain.[2] It is present in both the embryonic and adult brain. In embryonic life, the SVZ refers to a secondary proliferative zone containing neural progenitor cells, which divide to produce neurons in the process of neurogenesis.[3] The primary neural stem cells of the brain and spinal cord, termed radial glial cells, instead reside in the ventricular zone (VZ) (so-called because the VZ lines the inside of the developing ventricles).[4]
In the developing cerebral cortex, which resides in the dorsal telencephalon, the SVZ and VZ are transient tissues that do not exist in the adult.[4] However, the SVZ of the ventral telencephalon persists throughout life. The adult SVZ is composed of four distinct layers[5] of variable thickness and cell density as well as cellular composition. Along with the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, the SVZ is one of two places where neurogenesis has been found to occur in the adult mammalian brain.[6] Adult SVZ neurogenesis takes the form of neuroblast precursors of interneurons that migrate to the olfactory bulb through the rostral migratory stream. The SVZ also appears to be involved in the generation of astrocytes following a brain injury.[7]
^Quiñones-Hinojosa, A; Sanai, N; Soriano-Navarro, M; Gonzalez-Perez, O; Mirzadeh, Z; Gil-Perotin, S; Romero-Rodriguez, R; Berger, MS; Garcia-Verdugo, JM; Alvarez-Buylla, A (Jan 20, 2006). "Cellular composition and cytoarchitecture of the adult human subventricular zone: a niche of neural stem cells". The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 494 (3): 415–34. doi:10.1002/cne.20798. PMID16320258. S2CID11713373.
^Noctor, SC; Martínez-Cerdeño, V; Ivic, L; Kriegstein, AR (February 2004). "Cortical neurons arise in symmetric and asymmetric division zones and migrate through specific phases". Nature Neuroscience. 7 (2): 136–44. doi:10.1038/nn1172. PMID14703572. S2CID15946842.
^Quiñones-Hinojosa, A; Chaichana, K (Jun 2007). "The human subventricular zone: a source of new cells and a potential source of brain tumors". Experimental Neurology. 205 (2): 313–24. doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2007.03.016. PMID17459377. S2CID20491538.