CNS neurons from neural stem cells

Neurons from the central nervous system (CNS) can regenerate, but little is known about the potential of adult neural stem cells to develop into functional nervous cells. In April 15 online Nature Neuroscience, Hong-jun Song and colleagues from the Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, show that neural stem cells derived from adult tissues retain the potential to differentiate into cells with properties similar to that of mature CNS neurons.Song et al. established an in vitro co-culture system t

Written byTudor Toma
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

Neurons from the central nervous system (CNS) can regenerate, but little is known about the potential of adult neural stem cells to develop into functional nervous cells. In April 15 online Nature Neuroscience, Hong-jun Song and colleagues from the Salk Institute, La Jolla, California, show that neural stem cells derived from adult tissues retain the potential to differentiate into cells with properties similar to that of mature CNS neurons.

Song et al. established an in vitro co-culture system to examine stem cells derived from adult hippocampal tissue. They observed that progeny of adult rat neural stem cells developed into electrically active neurons and integrated into neural networks with functional synaptic transmission. In addition, they also showed that functional neurogenesis from adult stem cells was possible in co-culture with astrocytes from adult and neonatal hippocampus (Nat Neurosci 2002, DOI: 10.1038/nn844).

"These results indicate that, with additional factors, adult stem cells may ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Share
Illustration of a developing fetus surrounded by a clear fluid with a subtle yellow tinge, representing amniotic fluid.
January 2026

What Is the Amniotic Fluid Composed of?

The liquid world of fetal development provides a rich source of nutrition and protection tailored to meet the needs of the growing fetus.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Unchained Labs

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological's Launch of SwiftFluo® TR-FRET Kits Pioneers a New Era in High-Throughout Kinase Inhibitor Screening

SPT Labtech Logo

SPT Labtech enables automated Twist Bioscience NGS library preparation workflows on SPT's firefly platform

nuclera logo

Nuclera eProtein Discovery System installed at leading Universities in Taiwan

Brandtech Logo

BRANDTECH Scientific Introduces the Transferpette® pro Micropipette: A New Twist on Comfort and Control