神经干细胞 - 图文-.docVIP

Neural Stem Cells An Overview Rossella Galli,Angela Gritti,Luca Bonfanti,Angelo Luigi Vescovi Abstract—This review focuses on the nature and functional properties of stem cells of the adult mammalian central nervous system(CNS.It has recently been shown that cell turnover,including neurons,does occur in the mature CNS,thanks to the persistence of precursor cells that possess the functional characteristics of bona-fide neural stem cells(NSCs within restricted brain areas.We discuss how the subventricular zone of the forebrain(SVZis the most active neurogenetic area and the richest source of NSCs.These NSCs ensure a life-long contribution of new neurons to the olfactory bulb and,when placed in culture,can be grown and extensively expanded for months,allowing the generation of stem cell lines,which maintain stable and constant functional properties.A survey of the differentiation potential of these NSCs,both in vitro and in vivo,outlines their extreme plasticity that seems to outstretch the brain boundaries,so that these neuroectodermal stem cells may give rise to cells that derive from developmentally distinct tissues.A critical discussion of the latest,controversial findings regarding this surprising phenomenon is provided.(Circ Res.2003;92: 598-608. Key Words:stem cellsⅢtransdifferentiationⅢneurogenesis T he nervous tissue,particularly that of the central nervous system(CNS,is endowed with several peculiar charac-teristics that make it unique among the other bodily tissues. Ultimately,these properties relate to the CNS heterogeneous cell composition that underlies the elaboration of an enor-mous amount of information into a complex output.Histori-cally,this complexity has been seen inextricably linked to the lack of any cell turnover in the adult brain. The dogmatic view of an ever-immutable neural tissue in mammals is now been replaced by the notion that cell replacement occurs within specific brain regions throughout adulthood.This continuous neurogenetic proces