neural stem cell

Function

• progenitor cells that can differentiate into neurons, astrocytes or oligodendroglia

Compartment

• originally isolated from the subventricular zone of the mouse brain
• found in the olfactory bulb where they mature into GABAergic granule neurons
• found in the dentate gyrus where they mature into granule cells
• also see neuroblast

Notes

• the role of neural stem cells in treatment of human diseases including stroke, multiple sclerosis, & Parkinson's disease is an area of investigation
• at least one of the major problems is how to coerce newly formed neurons to find their natural connectivities that were established in connection with radial arrays during embryogenesis
  • progenitor cells transplanted into the striatum rather than the substantia nigra of patients with Parkinson's disease establish connectivities throughout the striatum (see investigational treatment of Parkinson's disease)
  • in adults, neuroblasts are capable of migrating using blood vessels as a scaffold

More general terms

• stem cell

Additional terms

• neurogenesis