Abstract
Neural stem cells (NSCs) are self-renewing, multipotent cells which give rise to all components of the central nervous system (CNS) during embryogenesis, but also activate in response to injury and disease and maintain a certain level of neurogenic activity throughout adulthood. This activity takes place in specialized regions of the brain, the neurovascular niches, whose main role is to control the behaviour of the CNS. In adult mammals, two main "canonical" niches have been described: The subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles and the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus. This review discusses our current understanding of the neural stem cells and their canonical niches, as well as their structure, behaviours, and role in neural disease.
Keywords:
brain; neurogenesis; niche; stem cell; subgranular zone; subventricular zone; vasculature.
Publication types
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Review
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Lateral Ventricles
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Mammals
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Multipotent Stem Cells
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Neural Stem Cells*
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Neurogenesis / physiology
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Stem Cell Niche / physiology
Grants and funding
This research was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Instituto de Salud Carlos III grants PI18/00462 to M.V.G.-G. and PT20/00044 to M.D., was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, “A way of making Europe” initiative. This work was partially supported by Comunidad de Madrid (S2017/BMD-3867 RENIM-CM) and co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Fund. This study was also supported by the Plan Estatal de I+D+I 2013–2016, with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), “A way to build Europe” initiative. The CNIC is supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and the Pro CNIC Foundation and is a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence (SEV-2015-0505).