Astrocytes of the subventricular zone of the telencephalon

The subventricular proliferative zone is one of the most interesting and least understood, in terms of its cellular and spatial organization, areas of the brain. The aim of the present work was to study the structural and cytochemical organization of astrocytes in the subventricular zone of the rat brain. Astrocytes were detected immunocytochemically. Specimens were analyzed by light and confocal laser microscopy. These experiments showed that the leading cellular population of the subventricular zone consists of atypical fibrous astrocytes, whose intermediate filaments contain only glial fibrillary acidic protein. The processes of these cells form a complex two-level network beneath the ependyma. These structural characteristics of the glial carcass of the subventricular zone probably result from the specific functions of this area and the CSF-brain barrier in this zone. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.