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Regulatory genes controlling cell fate choice in embryonic and adult neural stem cells
Author(s) -
Gangemi Rosaria Maria Rita,
Perera Marzia,
Corte Giorgio
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-4159.2004.02310.x
Subject(s) - neural stem cell , biology , stem cell , progenitor cell , embryonic stem cell , neuroscience , neuroepithelial cell , adult stem cell , nervous system , neurosphere , neural development , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , gene
Neural stem cells are the most immature progenitor cells in the nervous system and are defined by their ability to self‐renew by symmetric division as well as to give rise to more mature progenitors of all neural lineages by asymmetric division (multipotentiality). The interest in neural stem cells has been growing in the past few years following the demonstration of their presence also in the adult nervous system of several mammals, including humans. This observation implies that the brain, once thought to be entirely post‐mitotic, must have at least a limited capacity for self‐renewal. This raises the possibility that the adult nervous system may still have the necessary plasticity to undergo repair of inborn defects and acquired injuries, if ways can be found to exploit the potential of neural stem cells (either endogenous or derived from other sources) to replace damaged or defective cells. A full understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating generation and maintenance of neural stem cells, their choice between different differentiation programmes and their migration properties is essential if these cells are to be used for therapeutic applications. Here, we summarize what is currently known of the genes and the signalling pathways involved in these mechanisms.