Abstract
The potential applications of neural stem cells (NSC) in the therapy of degenerative and traumatic diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) have aroused great scientific interest. NSCs can be recovered from specific areas of the CNS from fetuses, embryos and from adult brain as well, and under appropriate culture conditions, may be induced to differentiate into the three major neural cell types, neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The main neurogenic areas of mammals are the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus, yet other areas of neurogenic potential have been identified, including frontal and parietal cortices, hippocampus and lateral wall of the lateral ventricle. Neural stem cells and differentiated neural cells are usually identified by expression of specific markers, proteins that are expressed by different cell types and/or at different stages of differentiation. The main cell markers are nestin and Sox-2 for undifferentiated NSCs, beta-III tubulin (B-III tubulin) for neurons, Galactocerebroside (GalC) for oligodendrocytes and Glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) for astrocytes. In general, the main neurogenic areas, the neurogenic potential of NSC and the morphological and biological characteristics of differentiated neural cells are strikingly similar among species, yet some differences have been reported. This article presents a brief review of NSCs, neurogenic areas and techniques used for their identification and characterization in humans and experimental animals.
Highlights
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the ability of self-renewal and generation of progenitor cells which, in turn, are capable of differentiation and generation of mature, specialized cells
The term neural stem cells (NSC) have been widely used to refer to cells that 1) can generate neural tissue or are derived from neural system, 2) present some selfrenewal capacity, and 3) can generate other neural cells through asymmetric division [1,2]. These cells are considered multipotent, since they are capable of originating the main cellular types of their original tissue, e.g. neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes [3]
Progenitor cells derived from SVZa have been well characterized and constitute a pure population of neural progenitors, in contrast with the posterior part of subventricular zone (SVZ) (SVZp), composed almost exclusively by astrocytes
Summary
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the ability of self-renewal and generation of progenitor cells which, in turn, are capable of differentiation and generation of mature, specialized cells. The term neural stem cells (NSC) have been widely used to refer to cells that 1) can generate neural tissue or are derived from neural system, 2) present some selfrenewal capacity, and 3) can generate other neural cells (in addition to themselves) through asymmetric division [1,2] These cells are considered multipotent, since they are capable of originating the main cellular types of their original tissue, e.g. neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes [3]. The subventricular zone (SVZ), derived from VZ, is a thin layer of the lateral ventricle wall In this layer the neural progenitor cells, capable of generating new neurons and glial cells, are located [6].
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