Adult neural stem cells——Functional potential and therapeutic applications

The adult brain has been thought traditionally as a structure with a very limited regenerative capacity. It is now evident that neurogenesis in adult mammalian brain is a prevailing phenomenon. Neural stem cells with the ability to self-renew, differentiate into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes reside in some regions of the adult brain. Adult neurogenesis can be stimulated by many physiological factors including pregnancy. More strikingly, newborn neurons in hippocampus integrally function with local neurons, thus neural stem cells might play important roles in memory and learning function. It seems that neural stem cells could transdifferentiate into other tissues, such as blood cells and muscles. Although there are some impediments in this field, some attempts have been made to employ adult neural stem cells in the cell replacement therapy for traumatic and ischemic brain injuries.