Due to advances in stem cell biology, embryonic stem (ES) cells can be induced to differentiate into a particular mature cell lineage when cultured as embryoid bodies. Although transplantation of ES cells-derived neural progenitor cells has been demonstrated with some success for either spinal cord injury repair in small animal model, control of ES cell differentiation into complex, viable, hig...

Understanding the control of cell-fate choices during embryonic stem cell (ESC) differentiation is crucial for harnessing strategies for efficient production of desired cell types for pharmaceutical drug screening and cell transplantation. Here we report the identification of the zinc finger-like doublesex and mab-3-related transcription factor 5 (Dmrt5) as a marker for mammalian ventral-medial...

Hox genes are classically ascribed to function in patterning the anterior-posterior axis of bilaterian animals; however, their role in directing molecular mechanisms underlying morphogenesis at the cellular level remains largely unstudied. We unveil a non-classical role for the zebrafish hoxb1b gene, which shares ancestral functions with mammalian Hoxa1, in controlling progenitor cell shape and...

The mechanisms that regulate neural progenitor cell differentiation are primarily unknown. The transcription factor activating transcription factor 5 (ATF5) is expressed in neural progenitors of developing brain but is absent from mature astrocytes and neurons. Here, we demonstrate that ATF5 regulates the conversion of ventricular zone (VZ) and subventricular zone (SVZ) neural progenitors into ...

Notch-like receptors are found in organisms ranging from nematodes to mammals. In Drosophila, Notch plays a key role in cell fate decisions in the early nervous system. In this report we analyse the effects of excess Notch 3 activity in central nervous system (CNS) progenitor cells. A mutated Notch gene encoding the intracellular domain of mouse Notch 3 transcribed from the nestin promoter was ...

During CNS development, the proliferation of progenitors must be coordinated with the pattern of neuronal subtype generation. In the ventral neural tube, Sonic hedgehog acts as a long range morphogen to organise the pattern of cell differentiation by controlling the activity of Gli transcription factors. Here, we provide evidence that the same pathway also acts directly at long range to promote...

Previous studies have demonstrated that a small subpopulation of brain tumor cells share key characteristics with neural stem/progenitor cells in terms of phenotype and behavior. These findings suggest that brain tumors might contain "cancer stem cells" that are critical for tumor growth. However, the molecular pathways governing such stem cell-like behavior remain largely elusive. Our previous...

Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are known to play important roles in cellular growth and differentiation in the nervous system. The change in expression of gangliosides is correlated with crucial developmental events and is evolutionarily conserved among many vertebrate species. The emergence of neural progenitors represents a crucial step in neural development, but little is known about the exact co...

Neural stem and progenitor cells serve as a reservoir for new neurons in the adult brain throughout lifetime. One of the critical steps determining the net production of new neurons is neural progenitor proliferation, which needs to be tightly controlled. Since inflammation has detrimental effects on neurogenesis and the 5-lipoxygenase/leukotriene pathway is involved in inflammatory processes, ...

Gliogenesis in the adult mouse brain Neural stem cells can generate both neurons and glia. Exactly where each cell is positioned determine what type of it generates. Delgado et al. show that neural are also choosy about sorts glia they make when (see Perspective by Baldwin Silver). Injury or selective deletion platelet-derived growth factor receptor ? (PDGFR?) from kicked them into overdrive re...