Insulin-like growth factor actions during development of neural stem cells and progenitors in the central nervous system.
Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) plays a key role in normal development. Recent studies show that IGF-I exerts a wide variety actions in the central nervous system during development as well as in adulthood. This report reviews recent developments on IGF-I actions and its mechanisms in the central nervous system, with a focus on its actions during the development of neural stem cells and progenitors. Available data strongly indicate that IGF-I shortens the length of the cell cycle in neuron progenitors during embryonic life and has an influence on the growth of all neural cell types. The phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways seem to be the predominant mediators of IGF-I-stimulated neural cell proliferation and survival. IGF-I actions, however, likely depend on cell type, developmental stage, and microenvironmental milieu.
Ye
Ping
P
Department of Pediatrics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-7220, USA. ping_ye@med.unc.edu
D'Ercole
A Joseph
AJ
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000502:physiology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*
D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I