6/30/2009 PERMALINK
Process by which your brain repairs itself discovered Neural stem cells are your brain's repair system. These cells are capable of self-renewal to form new stem cells or differentiate into neurons, astrocytes or oligodendrocytes. Astrocytes have supportive functions in the environment of neurons, while oligodendrocytes form the myelin layer around axons in order to accelerate neuronal signal transmission. But how does a neural stem cell know which type of brain cell it is supposed to develop into?

"It has been well defined that Notch signaling drives the formation of astrocytes from neural stem cells while it suppresses the formation of neurons and the maturation of oligodendrocytes" explains Mirko Schmidt at the Institute of Neurology at the Goethe University Frankfurt. Inhibition of Notch signaling reverses the situation and more neural stem cells differentiate into neurons. This is exactly what happened upon the addition of the secreted protein EGFL7 (Epidermal Growth Factor-like domain 7).