Evidence for and against regional differences in neural stem and progenitor cells of the CNS.
Neural stem and progenitor cells (NSCs) give rise to the cellular diversity of the CNS. There is evidence both for and against differences in these cells based on the region of the brain in which they reside. Primary brain tumors mimic many aspects of NSC behavior. Recent data suggest that some of the variability in glioma biology may be, in part, a reflection of regional differences in the NSCs from which they arise. In this issue of Genes & Development, Lee and colleagues (pp. 2317-2329) examine how NF1 regulates NSC proliferation and glial differentiation in the brainstem and cortex of the postnatal mouse brain.
Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Oren J
OJ
Becher
Eric C
EC
Holland
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D025542:Neurofibromin 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D055495:Neurogenesis; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
D025542:Neurofibromin 1; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt