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SUMMARY:No place like home: stem cells and the neurovascular niche  - Prof
 . Isabel Fariñas\, Department of Cell Biology\, Universidad de Valencia\,
  Spain 
DTSTART:20130418T160000Z
DTEND:20130418T164500Z
UID:TALK44644@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Guy Blanchard
DESCRIPTION:A characteristic feature of all stem cell systems in long-live
 d metazoans is their capacity to produce stem cells and cells that are com
 mitted to terminal differentiation in a continuous way. Capacity for self-
 renewal endows stem cell populations with regenerative potential but also 
 underlies susceptibility to neoplastic transformation. The adult brain sub
 ependymal zone (SEZ) is a very active neurogenic niche in which a relative
 ly quiescent population of radial glia/astrocyte-like GFAP+ neural stem ce
 lls (NSC) continually produce new neurons and oligodendrocytes\, via a pop
 ulation of rapidly-diving transit-amplifying progenitor cells. Stem cell e
 xpansion in response to increased cellular demand suggests that niche sign
 als can modulate division mode\, but very little is known about the molecu
 lar players involved. Therefore\, one approach to the understanding of sel
 f-renewal is to analyze the mechanisms that regulate the maintenance of no
 rmal NSCs in their natural environment. Although some intrinsic determinan
 ts are known to regulate stem cell division\, the observation that stem ce
 lls can respond to excessive cellular demand in pathological situations or
  after traumatic injury suggests that they have ways to increase their num
 ber in response to external signals. Within the specialized microenvironme
 nts in which stem cells reside\, vascular elements appear to play an impor
 tant role in the regulation of stem cell self-renewal vs. commitment\, bot
 h under normal and pathological conditions but the signalling pathways inv
 olved are still under investigation. I will present our most recent data o
 n intrinsic and extrinsic regulators of NSC maintenance and homing.
LOCATION:Hodgkin-Huxley Seminar Room\,  Physiology Building\, Downing Site
  
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