Evidence for and against regional differences in neural stem and progenitor cells of the CNS

Abstract

Neural stem and progenitor cells (NSCs) give rise to the cellular diversity of the CNS. There is evidence both for and against differences in these cells based on the region of the brain in which they reside. Primary brain tumors mimic many aspects of NSC behavior. Recent data suggest that some of the variability in glioma biology may be, in part, a reflection of regional differences in the NSCs from which they arise. In this issue of Genes & Development, Lee and colleagues (pp. 2317-2329) examine how NF1 regulates NSC proliferation and glial differentiation in the brainstem and cortex of the postnatal mouse brain.

Figure 1.

Region-specific NSCs from a PN1 mouse brain. Horizontal low-magnification H&E staining from a PN1 mouse brain. The large arrow points to the brainstem and the small arrow points to the cortex. NF1^−/− NSCs isolated from a PN1 brainstem and cultured in serum-free conditions with FGF-2/EGF had increased pAKT (S473), increased p-p27 (S10 and T198), increased Olig-2-expressing cells, and increased proliferation rate relative to NF1^+/+ NSCs isolated from a PN1 brainstem. In contrast, NF1^−/− NSCs isolated from a PN1 cortex had similar levels of pAKT (S473), increased total p27 protein levels, similar number of Olig-2-expressing cells, and similar proliferation rate relative to NF1^+/+ NSCs isolated from a PN1 cortex. (Image courtesy of Massimo Squatrito.)