Cell: A
growth factor that controls the formation of blood vessels in the brain
can also stimulate mouse and human neural stem cells to produce new
brain cells, Yale University researchers have discovered.
The molecule
is now being eyed as a candidate to treat neurological disease and
promote the division of new stem cells in the aging brain.
Neurobiologist Jean-Leon Thomas and colleagues, in collaboration with
vascular biologist Anne Eichmann, found that neural stem cells lacking a
receptor for the blood vessel growth factor produced fewer new brain
cells in the hippocampus of mice. The researchers then observed that
mice without the receptor were more anxious than mice with intact
receptors in stem cells. Surprisingly, one form of the growth factor
(VEGF-C) does not stimulate brain blood vessel formation at doses that
activate brain stem cells, which highlights its clinical potential.
Han et al.: "Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 controls
neural stem cell activation in mice and humans" Cell Reports. (Published
online February 19, 2015.) http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(15)00074-1