Research progress on composition and regulatory mechanism ofneural stem cell niche

Abstract

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are stem cells that with the ability of self-renew and multipledifferentiation potential. Under certain circumstances, NSCs are able to differentiate into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, thereby participating in the neurogenesis and injury repair. The specific microenvironments regulating neural stem cells, commonly referred to as neurogenic niches, comprise multiple cell populations whose precise contributions are under active current exploration. Understanding the cross-talk between neural stem cells and their niche components is essential for the development of therapies against neurodegenerative disorders and spinal cord injury. In this review, we describe and discuss recent studies that identified novel components in the neural stem cell niche. These discoveries bring new concepts to the field. Therefore, we evaluate these recent advances that change our understanding of the neural stem cell niche and its influence on neural stem cell function. \n \n \nKey words: \nNeural stem cell;\xa0Niche;\xa0Nerve regeneration