Drosophila neural stem cells in brain development and tumor formation.
Neuroblasts, the neural stem cells in Drosophila, generate the complex neural structure of the central nervous system. Significant progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms regulating the self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation in Drosophila neuroblast lineages. Deregulation of these mechanisms can lead to severe developmental defects and the formation of malignant brain tumors. Here, the authors review the molecular genetics of Drosophila neuroblasts and discuss some recent advances in stem cell and cancer biology using this model system.
Biozentrum, University of Basel , Basel , Switzerland.
Yanrui
Y
Jiang
Heinrich
H
Reichert
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology; D002455:Cell Division; D019070:Cell Lineage; D004330:Drosophila; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*
Drosophila; brain tumor; cancer stem cells; neural stem cells; neuroblasts