THE EPENDYMA - A PROTECTIVE BARRIER BETWEEN BRAIN AND CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID

This review summarizes the current scientific literature concerning th e ependymal lining of the cerebral ventricles of the brain with an emp hasis on selective barrier function and protective roles for the commo n ependymal cell. Topics covered include the development, morphology, protein and enzyme expression including reactive changes, and patholog y. Some cells lining the neural tube are committed at an early stage t o becoming ependymal cells. They serve a secretory function and perhap s act as a cellular/axonal guidance system, particularly during fetal development. In the mature mammalian brain ependymal cells possess the structural and enzymatic characteristics necessary for scavenging and detoxifying a wide variety of substances in the CSF, thus forming a m etabolic barrier at the brain-CSF interface. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.