Gingipains from Porphyromonas gingivalis drive Alzheimer’s pathology and can be blocked with small-molecule inhibitors.

The rostral migratory stream (RMS) is the main pathway by which newly born subventricular zone cells reach the olfactory bulb (OB) in rodents. However, the RMS in the adult human brain has been elusive. We demonstrate the presence of a human RMS, which is unexpectedly organized around a lateral ventricular extension reaching the OB, and illustrate the neuroblasts in it. The RMS ensheathing the lateral olfactory ventricular extension, as seen by magnetic resonance imaging, cell-specific markers, and electron microscopy, contains progenitor cells with migratory characteristics and cells that incorporate 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine and become mature neurons in the OB.

Renewed discussion about whether or not adult neurogenesis exists in the human hippocampus, and the nature and strength of the supporting evidence, has been reignited by two prominently published reports with opposite conclusions. Here, we summarize the state of the field and argue that there is currently no reason to abandon the idea that adult-generated neurons make important functional contributions to neural plasticity and cognition across the human lifespan.