Meningeal Cells

Meningeal cells surround the brain and are actively involved in the development of the central nervous system. They play an important role in stabilizing the extracellular matrix of the pial surface, organizing the radial glial scaffold, and laminating the cerebellar cortex. Selective pharmacological destruction of the meningeal cells during critical period of ontogeny results in specific malformation of both the cerebellar cortex and dentate gyrus. Transplantation of meningeal cells, which are derived from meninges overlying the cerebral cortex, into spinal cord lesions in adult rats promotes axonal regeneration. Furthermore, in vitro studies showed that meningeal cells chemotactically orient the migration of immature neurons but not glial cells.