Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a hematopoietic growth factor that controls proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells. Although recent studies have begun to explore G-CSF-related mechanisms of action in various disease models, little is known about its function in the healthy brain. In the present study, the effect of G-CSF deficiency on memory formation and motor ...

Neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation represents an unexplored approach for treating neurodegenerative disorders associated with cognitive decline such as Alzheimer disease (AD). Here, we used aged triple transgenic mice (3xTg-AD) that express pathogenic forms of amyloid precursor protein, presenilin, and tau to investigate the effect of neural stem cell transplantation on AD-related neuropath...

To begin the process of forming neural circuits, new neurons first establish their polarity and extend their axon. Axon extension is guided and regulated by highly coordinated cytoskeletal dynamics. Here we demonstrate that in hippocampal neurons, the actin-binding protein caldesmon accumulates in distal axons, and its N-terminal interaction with myosin II enhances axon extension. In cortical n...

In the adult brain, expression of the microtubule-associated protein Doublecortin (DCX) is associated with neural progenitor cells (NPCs) that give rise to new neurons in the dentate gyrus. Many studies quantify the number of DCX-expressing cells as a proxy for the level of adult neurogenesis, yet no study has determined the effect of removing DCX from adult hippocampal NPCs. Here, we use a ret...

Mammals are able to navigate to hidden goal locations by direct routes that may traverse previously unvisited terrain. Empirical evidence suggests that this "vector navigation" relies on an internal representation of space provided by the hippocampal formation. The periodic spatial firing patterns of grid cells in the hippocampal formation offer a compact combinatorial code for location within ...

Transcription factor Runx1 (Runt Related Transcription Factor 1), plays an important role in the differentiation of hematopoetic stem cells, angiogenesis and the development of nociceptive neurons. These known functions have in common that they relate to lineage decisions. We thus asked whether such role might also be found for Runx1 in adult hippocampal neurogenesis as a process, in which such...

NG2-expressing neural progenitor cells (i.e., NG2 glial cells) maintain their proliferative and migratory activities even in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) and produce myelinating oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. Although NG2 glial cells have been observed in close proximity to neuronal cell bodies in order to receive synaptic inputs, substantive non-proliferative roles of NG2...

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), a monoamine neurotransmitter, regulates neurological functions such as mood, sleep, and appetite. Erythropoietin (EPO) is well known for erythropoiesis but has recently emerged as a therapeutic agent in brain diseases. However, the mechanisms that induce EPO in the brain remain unclear. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether the effects of...

Studies of experimental mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) indicate that prolonged seizures in the adult not only damage the hippocampal formation but also dramatically stimulate neurogenesis. Endogenous neural progenitor cells (NPCs) located in the adult rodent dentate gyrus and striatal subventricular zone are stimulated by experimental status epilepticus (SE) to generate increased numbers ...