Neuropeptide signaling and hydrocephalus: SCO with the flow
David J. Picketts
David J. Picketts
Published July 3, 2006
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2006;116(7):1828-1832. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI29148.
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Commentary

Neuropeptide signaling and hydrocephalus: SCO with the flow

Abstract

Congenital hydrocephalus affects 0.1–0.3% of live births, with a high mortality rate (~50%) in the absence of surgical intervention. Although the insertion of shunts alleviates the symptoms of the majority of congenital cases, the molecular basis of hydrocephalus and the mechanisms of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation remain largely unknown. Two important players are the subcommissural organ/Reissner’s fiber (SCO/RF) complex and the ventricular ependymal (vel) cells that together facilitate the flow of the CSF through the narrow canals of the ventricular system. In this issue of the JCI, Lang et al. demonstrate that overexpression of the pituitary adenylate cyclase–activating polypeptide (PACAP) type I (PAC1) receptor gene results in abnormal development of the SCO and vel cells, leading to congenital hydrocephalus (see the related article beginning on page 1924). The ligand for the PAC1 receptor is the neuropeptide PACAP, which uncovers what the authors believe to be a novel role for this signaling cascade in the regulation of CSF circulation.

Authors

David J. Picketts

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Figure 1

CSF flow and the SCO.

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CSF flow and the SCO. CSF is secreted from the choroid plexus and travel...
CSF is secreted from the choroid plexus and travels through the ventricular system in a rostrocaudal direction from the lateral ventricles to the third ventricle via the foramen of Munro, then through the Sylvian aqueduct to the fourth ventricle, and finally into the cisterna magna of the subarachnoid space and the central canal of the spinal cord. CSF fluid is removed through the arachnoid villi into the venous circulation.