- Category: Science & Technology
ScienceDaily (July 1, 2010) — Stem cells in the brain remain dormant until called upon to divide and make more neurons. However, little has been known about the molecular guards that keep them quiet. Now scientists from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified the signal that prevents stem cells from proliferating, protecting the brain against too much cell division and ensuring a pool of neural stem cells that lasts a lifetime.
(Credit: Image: Courtesy of Dr. Helena Mira, Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid)
The signaling molecule BMP keeps neural stem cells in the hippocampus, an important memory hub of the brain, in a quiescent state thus ensuring pool of neural stem cells that last a lifetime. Cell nuclei are shown in blue, nuclei of neural stem cells are shown in green, while so called radial stem cells, a subgroup of neural stem cells, are shown red.
The research, which will be published in the July 1 issue of Cell Stem Cell, highlights the importance of bone morphogenetic factor protein (BMP) signaling for the maintenance of a neural stem cell reservoir throughout adult life and may provide the key to understanding the interplay between exercise, aging and neurogenesis.
Adult neural stem cells in the hippocampus -- a memory hub of the brain -- sprout new brain cells throughout life. This particular area of the brain, one of only two for which neurogenesis has been clearly shown, is particularly vulnerable to age-related degeneration. Regular physical exercise not only slows the shrinking of aging hippocampi but also improves learning and memory in mature adults...MORE...
