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Neurogenesis persists in the adult mammalian hippocampus. To identify and isolate neuronal progenitor cells of the adult human hippocampus, we transfected ventricular zone-free dissociates of surgically-excised dentate gyrus with DNA encoding humanized green fluorescent protein (hGFP), placed under the control of either the nestin enhancer (E/nestin) or the Tα1 tubulin promoter (P/Tα1), two regulatory regions that direct transcription in neural progenitor cells. The resultant P/Tα1: hGFP+ and E/nestin: enhanced (E) GFP+ cells expressed βIII-tubulin or microtubule-associated protein-2; many incorporated bromodeoxyuridine, indicating their genesis in vitro. Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting, the E/nestin: EGFP+ and P/Tα1: hGFP+ cells were isolated to near purity, and matured antigenically and physiologically as neurons. Thus, the adult human hippocampus contains mitotically competent neuronal …