Mode of cell proliferation in the developing mouse neocortex

There are two proliferative populations in the developing cerebral wall: the pseudostratified ventricular epithelium (PVE) and the secondary proliferative population (SPP). The present experiments provide on embryonic day 14 (E14) in the mouse direct measures of the values for the proportions of daughter cells that continue to proliferate (proliferative, P fraction, or P) and for those that leave the cell cycle (quiescent, Q fraction, or Q; Q = 1 - P) for both of these populations. The range of values of P for the PVE, 0.62-0.66, would provide for the relatively low rate of neuronal output and for an expansion of the proliferative population appropriate for E14. The even higher values of P for the SPP, 0.73-1.0, would expand this population rapidly in preparation for the high glial cell output to occur later in cerebral histogenesis.