Neural stem cells

Neural stem cell
Neural progenitor cells (green) in the rat olfactory bulb
Details
Identifiers
Latin	Cellula nervosa praecursoria
Code	TH H2.00.01.0.00010
Anatomical terminology []

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are self-renewing, multipotent cells that generate the neurons and glia of the nervous system of all animals during embryonic development. Some neural stem cells persist in the adult vertebrate brain and continue to produce neurons throughout life. Stem cells are characterized by their capacity to differentiate into multiple cell types. They undergo symmetric or asymmetric cell division into two daughter cells. In symmetric cell division, both daughter cells are also stem cells. In asymmetric division, a stem cells produces one stem cell and one specialized cell. NSCs primarily differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes.

In 1989, Sally Temple described multipotent, self-renewing progenitor and stem cells in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the mouse brain. In 1992, Brent A. Reynolds and Samuel Weiss were the first to isolate neural progenitor and stem cells from the adult striatal tissue, including the SVZ — one of the neurogenic areas — of adult mice brain tissue. In the same year the team of Constance Cepko and Evan Y. Snyder were the first to isolate multipotent cells from the mouse cerebellum and stably transfected them with the oncogene v-myc. Interestingly, this molecule is one of the genes widely used now to reprogram adult non-stem cells into pluripotent stem cells. Since then, neural progenitor and stem cells have been isolated from various areas of the adult brain, including non-neurogenic areas, such as the spinal cord, and from various species including humans.