A morphologically distinct granule cell type in the dentate gyrus of the red fox correlates with adult hippocampal neurogenesis

Wild red foxes, proverbially cunning carnivores, are investigated for adult hippocampal neurogenesis and morphological characteristics of the dentate gyrus. Adult red foxes harbor almost 15-times more young, doublecortin-positive neurons in their dentate gyrus than domesticated dogs. The number of doublecortin-positive cells corresponds to 4.4% of the total granule cell number, whereas dividing cells amount to only 0.06%. Compared to laboratory mice, proliferating (Ki67-positive) and dying cells are rare, but the percentage of new neurons is quite similar. The numbers of proliferating cells, young cells of neuronal lineage and dying cells correlate. Resident granule cells can be divided into two types with strikingly different morphologies, staining patterns and distinct septotemporal distributions. Small sized granule cells with a nuclear diameter of 7.3 μm account for ∼ 83% of all granule cells. The remaining granule cells are significantly larger with a nuclear diameter of 9.4 μm diameter and stain heavily for NeuN. Septally and mid-septotemporally, densely packed small cells dominate. Here, only few large granule cells are scattered throughout the layer. Temporally, granule cells become more loosely packed and most of the cells are of the large type. High rates of neurogenesis are observed in foxes with high numbers of large granule cells, whereas the number of small granule cells does not correlate with any of the neurogenesis-related cell counts. Staining for parvalbumin, glutamate receptor 2/3, GAP-43 and dynorphin shows an anatomical context that is a composite of features common also to other mammalian species. In summary, we report a morphologically distinct granule cell type which correlates with adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the fox. Furthermore, the maturation phase of the young neurons may be prolonged as in other long living species such as primates.