Engineering Biomaterials for Synthetic Neural Stem Cell Microenvironments

Abstract

Neural stem cells (NSCs) have been isolated from various speciesssuch as mice, rats, and humanssand from numerous regions in the developing and adult nervous systemsincluding the subventricular zone (SVZ), the subgranular zone of the hippocampus, the cortical neuroepithelium, and the spinal cord. In vivo, the NSC is encompassed by a microenvironment or niche that presents it with a repertoire of diffusible factors, cell-cell interactions, and extracellular matrix (ECM) ligands that bind to cellular receptors and thereby modulate signaling and gene expression (Figure 1). Ultimately, these soluble and solid-phase components of the niche collectively regulate cell behavior and functionsincluding mitosis, apoptosis, migration, and differentiation.