, 2010) as well as in some differentiated neurons ( Nery et al., 2001 and Miller et al., 2009). This potentially complicates interpretation of fate mapping studies see more ( Guo et al., 2009 and Guo et al., 2010). It is quite important to get to the bottom of these discrepancies because, at the very least, it will refine our understanding of the Cre-lox system and its potential shortcomings. In any case, there seems to be something interesting going on in the PC. There has been a steady trickle of evidence for neuronal progenitors/immature neurons residing there.

For example, cells in the PC have been reported to express Doublecortin, polysialated NCAM, Sox2, and other markers of neural precursor cells (Seki and Arai, 1991,

Hayashi et al., 2001, Nacher et al., 2001, Nacher et al., 2002, Pekcec et al., 2006, Shapiro et al., 2007, Bullmann et al., 2010 and Guo et al., 2010). There have also been reports of continued neuron genesis in the adult rodent and primate PC and its modulation by olfactory stimulation (Bernier et al., 2002, Pekcec et al., 2006, Shapiro et al., 2007 and Arisi et al., 2011). Another possibility is that the immature neuron markers Selleck PARP inhibitor might be indicative of neuronal de-differentiation and remodeling in response to changing inputs from the olfactory bulb (OB) (Seki and Arai, 1993 and Nacher et al., 2001), since the aPC (otherwise known as the primary others olfactory cortex) is the primary target for output neurons (mitral cells) of the OB. The internal OB circuitry is continually changing throughout life, due to the addition of new OB interneurons from the SVZ, so perhaps the whole olfactory system including the aPC is in a constant state

of flux. NG2-glia are known to react to injury by proliferating, upregulating NG2 expression and generating remyelinating oligodendrocytes when required (reviewed by Levine et al., 2001). Since their differentiation potential is known to be influenced by their environment in vitro (Kondo and Raff, 2000), it is possible that they might display a broader range of fates following CNS injury or disease, when their microenvironment is likely to be altered by inflammatory cells and possibly through breach of the blood-brain barrier. Therefore, it is of great interest to discover the fates of NG2-glia in various experimental models of disease or traumatic injury. There has now been a handful of genetic fate mapping studies of NG2-glia during various experimental pathologies in mice. These include experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) (Tripathi et al., 2010), acute gliotoxin-induced focal demyelination (Zawadzka et al., 2010), spinal cord section (Barnabé-Heider et al., 2010), cortical stab wound (Dimou et al., 2008 and Komitova et al., 2011), and a mouse model of inherited amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; motor neuron disease) (Kang et al., 2010).