In most mammals, neurons are added throughout life in the hippocampus and olfactory bulb. One area where neuroblasts that give rise to adult-born neurons are generated is the lateral ventricle wall of the brain. We show, using histological and carbon-14 dating approaches, that in adult humans new neurons integrate in the striatum, which is adjacent to this neurogenic niche. The neuronal turnover in the striatum appears restricted to interneurons, and postnatally generated striatal neurons are preferentially depleted in patients with Huntington's disease. Our findings demonstrate a unique pattern of neurogenesis in the adult human brain.

A major goal of systems biology is the development of models that accurately predict responses to perturbation. Constructing such models requires collection of dense measurements of system states, yet transformation of data into predictive constructs remains a challenge. To begin to model human immunity, we analyzed immune parameters in depth both at baseline and in response to influenza vaccination. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell transcriptomes, serum titers, cell subpopulation frequencies, and B cell responses were assessed in 63 individuals before and after vaccination and used to develop a systematic framework to dissect inter- and intra-individual variation and build predictive models of post-vaccination antibody responses. Strikingly, independent of age and pre-existing antibody titers, accurate models could be constructed using pre-perturbation cell populations alone, which were validated using independent baseline time-points. Most of the parameters contributing to prediction delineated temporally-stable baseline differences across individuals, raising the prospect of immune monitoring before intervention.

The myelination of axons by oligodendrocytes has been suggested to be modulated by experience, which could mediate neural plasticity by optimizing the performance of the circuitry. We have assessed the dynamics of oligodendrocyte generation and myelination in the human brain. The number of oligodendrocytes in the corpus callosum is established in childhood and remains stable after that. Analysis of the integration of nuclear bomb test-derived (14)C revealed that myelin is exchanged at a high rate, whereas the oligodendrocyte population in white matter is remarkably stable in humans, with an annual exchange of 1/300 oligodendrocytes. We conclude that oligodendrocyte turnover contributes minimally to myelin modulation in human white matter and that this instead may be carried out by mature oligodendrocytes, which may facilitate rapid neural plasticity.

Rationale: The ability of the human heart to regenerate large quantities of myocytes remains controversial, and the extent of myocyte renewal claimed by different laboratories varies from none to nearly 20% per year. Objective: To address this issue, we examined the percentage of myocytes, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts labeled by iododeoxyuridine in postmortem samples obtained from cancer patients who received the thymidine analog for therapeutic purposes. Additionally, the potential contribution of DNA repair, polyploidy, and cell fusion to the measurement of myocyte regeneration was determined. Methods and Results: The fraction of myocytes labeled by iododeoxyuridine ranged from 2.5% to 46%, and similar values were found in fibroblasts and endothelial cells. An average 22%, 20%, and 13% new myocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells were generated per year, suggesting that the lifespan of these cells was approximately 4.5, 5, and 8 years, respectively. The newly formed cardiac cells showed a fully differentiated adult phenotype and did not express the senescence-associated protein p16 INK4a. Moreover, measurements by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry documented that the human heart is composed predominantly of myocytes with 2n diploid DNA content and that tetraploid and octaploid nuclei constitute only a small fraction of the parenchymal cell pool. Importantly, DNA repair, ploidy formation, and cell fusion were not implicated in the assessment of myocyte regeneration. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the human heart has a significant growth reserve and replaces its myocyte and nonmyocyte compartment several times during the course of life. (Circ Res. 2010;107:305-315.)Key Words: myocyte regeneration Ⅲ cell lifespan Ⅲ DNA repair Ⅲ ploidy Ⅲ cell fusion F or nearly a century, the adult heart has been considered a postmitotic organ in which the number of parenchymal cells is established at birth and cardiomyocytes lost with age or as a result of cardiac diseases cannot be replaced by newly formed cells. The recent explosion of the field of stem cell biology, with the recognition that the possibility exists for extrinsic and intrinsic regeneration of myocytes and coronary vessels, 1 has imposed a reevaluation of cardiac homeostasis and pathology. Several laboratories have identified resident cardiac stem cells (CSCs) in the developing, postnatal, and adult heart of animals and humans, 2-4 suggesting that myocyte turnover and tissue regeneration may be more profound than previously predicted.The documentation that CSCs reside in the myocardium, are stored in discrete niche structures, and divide symmetrically and asymmetrically in vitro and in vivo 4 makes the heart a selfrenewing organ. Cardiac cells continuously lost by wear and tear are constantly replaced by activation and commitment of CSCs. 5 Based on retrospective 14 C birth dating of cells, the claim has been made that throughout life, myocyte turnover in humans is restricted to a subset of Ϸ50% of cardiomyocytes. 6 Although the process...