ABOVE: Newly identified oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (green) in a mouse brain arise from adult stem cells (blue). Here, one sits on the surface of the ventricle wall, nestled among cilia (red).
ANA DELGADO AND FIONA DOETSCH, BIOZENTRUM, UNIVERSITY OF BASEL
Scientists have discovered two types of glial cells in the brains of adult mice—an astrocyte and an oligodendrocyte progenitor cell—after nudging neural stem cells to rise from dormancy, according to a study published June 10 in Science. The results suggest new roles for glial cells, best known for providing support to neurons, and could prompt a better understanding of how brains remain plastic into adulthood, when the vast majority of neurons no longer undergo cell division.
This study is “a very important addition to the whole story about these fascinating [stem] cells that exist in the adult brain of rodents that have the capacity to generate new cells,” says Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, ...
