Nutrition influences nervous system development by regulating neural stem cell homeostasis

Abstract

Like the general growth of an organism, nervous system development also depends heavily on nutrition. This review discusses how the brain-food axis works and how nutritional factors impact neural stem cell (NSC) behavior in vertebrate and invertebrate systems. Various aspects of NSC homeostasis, from proliferation, quiescence, and differentiation to timely elimination during development and adult life, depend on nutrition and metabolism. Here we have reviewed the role of macro-and micronutrient factors in the general homeostasis of NSCs. We highlight how the nutritional factors establish cross-talk between NSCs with systemic niche during CNS development via different signaling pathways. The nutrient-sensing by molecular signaling such as Insulin-PI3K-TOR are highly conserved in Drosophila and mammalian systems and play a central role in NSC fate determination and brain development. We discuss the insights from Drosophila murine and human systems to comprehend different ways through which nutrition influence NSC fate. A better understanding of the nutrition and metabolism in NSCs and their niche would assist in learning the central nervous system developmental and neurodegenerative disorders for better therapeutic design and treatment.