Grant: Project Grant

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are important for aspects of brain maintenance as well as for responding, in a limited manner, to brain injuries such as stroke. NSCs are largely dormant in nature in that they divide infrequently but are primed for activation to respond to brain injury or disease. Little is known with respect to how NSCs in the adult brain are established as the brain is being built. Recent work has shown that as NSCs are being established during the construction of the brain, they go through a transition and become dormant so they can persist into the adult brain. Our recent work has shown that this transition to dormancy is likely controlled by molecules found outside the cell in the cellular environment. Here we will study proteins which act as an 'on/off' switches for the dormant state as NSCs are being established and maintained in the adult brain. Further we will reveal how these 'on/off' switches dampen the ability of NSCs to respond to molecules found in their environment and thus forces them to become and remain dormant and limits their ability to respond to brain injury. Understanding how these 'on/off' switches control dormancy as NSCs are being established and maintained in the adult brain has the potential to allow the development of novel therapeutic strategies designed to 'wake up' NSCs to enhance brain repair following stroke injury.