The presence and pattern of adult neurogenesis in the brains of three prosimian primates
Date
2015
Authors
Fasemore, Thandi Mamorapelo D
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Abstract
This study investigated the presence and pattern of adult neurogenesis in the Subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricle, the dentate gyrus (DG) of hippocampus and potential neurogenic sites in three prosimian primates. While two nocturnal species, the Galagoides demidoff phasma (Galago) and the Perodictus potto (Potto) were caught in the wild, the Lemur catta (Lemur) was a zoo kept diurnal animal. Two brain specimens from each species, perfusion-fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde were cut at 50 μm thick frozen sections in sagittal and coronal planes. Using doublecortin (DCX) and Ki-67 antibodies, immature neurons and proliferating cells were identified respectively in the SVZ and DG and in potential sites such as the striatum, corpus callosum, amygdala, and piriform cortex in all the three species. DCX positive cells were observed in the cerebellum of the Lemur and the Galago but not in the Potto. There were no Ki-67 proliferating cells observed in the cerebellum and the neocortex of all the three species. Interspecies analysis indicated that the estimated rate of Ki-67 proliferating cells in Potto was 1.9 times higher than that of the Lemur and 4.8 times higher than that of the Galago. There was no statistical significant variation in the number of estimated Ki-67 cells within the three species but a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) when comparing Potto with the Lemur and Galago. There was no significant difference (P ≥ 0.05) in the number of Ki-67 cells between the Lemur and the Galago. Variations do exist in the cell proliferation pattern among these three prosimian primates.
Description
A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Medicine.
School of Anatomical Sciences,
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg