Adult neurogenesis has been questioned for many years. In the early 1900s, a dogma was established that denied new neuron formation in the adult brain. In the last century however, new discoveries have demonstrated the real existence of proliferation in the adult brain, and in the last decade, these studies led to the identification of neural stem cells in mammals. Adult neural stem cells are undifferentiated cells that are present in the adult brain and are capable of dividing and differentiating into glia and new neurons. Newly formed neurons terminally differentiate into mature neurons in the olfactory bulb and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Since then, a number of new research lines have emerged whose common objective is the phenotypical and molecular characterization of brain stem cells. As a result, new therapies are successfully being applied to animal models for certain neurodegenerative diseases or stroke. At present, and in years to come, this finding extends to the adult human brain, and gives reason and hope to all the previous studies.
Author(s): Sara Gil-PerotÃn, Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, Jose Manuel Garcia-Verdugo
Series: Advances in Anatomy, Embryology and Cell Biology
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2009
Language: English
Pages: 116
List of Contents......Page 7
1. Historic Overview......Page 12
2.1.1 Markers of Proliferation......Page 16
2.1.2 Phenotypic Markers......Page 19
2.2 Electron Microscopy......Page 22
2.3 Neurosphere Assay......Page 28
2.4 Fluorescence-Assisted Cell Sorting (FACS) Analysis in Stem Cell Research......Page 31
2.5 Transgenic Animals and the cre–lox System......Page 33
2.6 Transplantation of Adult NSCs......Page 34
2.7 Integration and Functionality of Newborn Cells in the Adult Brain......Page 36
3.1.1 Subventricular Zone......Page 37
3.1.2 Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus......Page 52
3.1.3 Concept of Neurogenic Niche......Page 55
3.2 Identification of the Adult Neural Stem Cell in the SVZ......Page 57
3.3 Other Proliferating and Neurogenic Centers in the Adult Brain......Page 59
3.3.2 The Central Canal of the Spinal Cord......Page 60
3.4.1 Bovine Lateral Ventricles......Page 63
3.4.2 Rabbit Lateral Ventricles......Page 65
3.4.3 Primate Lateral Ventricles......Page 66
3.4.4 Human Lateral Ventricles......Page 68
4. Oncogenesis vs. Neurogenesis......Page 73
5.1 Concept and Epidemiology......Page 77
5.2 Effects of Ischemia on the Brain and the SVZ......Page 79
5.3 Extracellular Factors and Neurogenesis After Stroke......Page 83
5.4 Stem Cell-Based Therapies in Ischemia......Page 84
6. Therapeutic Potential of Neural Stem Cells......Page 86
7. Concluding Remarks......Page 89
References......Page 92
R......Page 109
T......Page 110
