Neural stem cells (NSCs) as a heterogeneous multipotent and self- renewal population are found in different areas in the developing mammalian nervous system, as well as the sub-ventricular zone (SVZ) and the hippocampus of the adult brain. NSCs can give rise to neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. The aim of this study was to differentiate neural stem cells into noradrenergic–like cells in...

Neurogenesis occurs continuously in two brain regions of adult mammals, underpinned by a pool of resident neural stem cells (NSCs) that can differentiate into all neural cell types. To advance our understanding of NSC function and to develop therapeutic and diagnostic approaches, it is important to accurately identify and enrich for NSCs. There are no definitive markers for the identification a...

NSCs (neural stem cells) are undifferentiated neural cells endowed with a high potential for proliferation and a capacity for self-renewal with retention of multipotency to differentiate into neurons and glial cells. It has been recently reported that GD3, a b-series ganglioside, is a marker molecule for identifying and isolating mouse NSCs. However, the expression of gangliosides in human NSCs...

Neural stem cells (NSCs) can be obtained from a variety of sources, but not all NSCs exhibit the same characteristics. We have examined how the level of glycogen synthase kinase-3 activity regulates NSCs obtained from different sources: the mouse embryonic striatum, embryonic hippocampus, and mouse ES cells. Growth of striatal NSCs is enhanced by mild inhibition of GSK-3 but not by strong inhib...

Transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) offers a novel therapeutic strategy for stroke; however, massive grafted cell death following transplantation, possibly due to a hostile host brain environment, lessens the effectiveness of this approach. Here, we have investigated whether reprogramming NSCs with minocycline, a broadly used antibiotic also known to possess cytoprotective properties, e...

This study investigated whether electro-acupuncture (EA) would improve the survival and migration of neural stem cells (NSCs) transplanted in injured spinal cord as well as the potential mechanisms. T10 spinal cord segments of 50 adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were completely transected, and then NSCs were immediately transplanted into the transected site of the experimental animals, while cont...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the development of neural stem cells (NSCs) in fetal brain, which may provide experimental evidence for the clinical treatment of brain injury in children. METHODS A total of 60 fetuses were collected after labor induction and divided into 6 groups according to the gestational age (16 w, 20 w, 24 w, 28 w, 32 w and 36 w; n=10 per group). The hippocampu...

Neural stem cells (NSCs) can self-renew and give rise to the major cell types of the CNS. Studies of NSCs include the investigation of primary, CNS-derived cells as well as animal and human embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived sources. NSCs provide a means with which to study normal neural development, neurodegeneration, and neurological disease and...

Neural stem/progenitor cell (NSC) transplantation has been shown to effectively improve neurological function in rats with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a signaling protein that stimulates angiogenesis and improves neural regeneration. We hypothesized that transplantation of VEGF-transfected NSCs would alleviate hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in neon...

Primitive mammalian neural stem cells (NSCs), arising during the earliest stages of embryogenesis, possess pluripotency in embryo chimera assays in contrast to definitive NSCs found in the adult. We hypothesized that adhesive differences determine the association of stem cells with embryonic cells in chimera assays and hence their ability to contribute to later tissues. We show that primitive N...