Grant: Operating Grant

In the past it was always believed that the adult brain cannot regenerate damaged brain tissue and that brain cells (neurons) must last throughout life. More recently, it was found that the adult brain contains stem cells and progenitor cells which have the capacity to regenerate new neurons to improve brain function. A major challenge is that most neural stem cells lie dormant in the adult brain and their numbers decline with age. It is therefore essential to identify new strategies to activate and expand the adult stem cell population. We have shown that the Rb/E2F pathway plays a key role in expanding and maintaining adult neural precursor cells by activating genes that expand the stem cell population in the brain. In the studies described in this proposal, we will identify exactly how Rb/E2F pathway functions to control the stem cell population and devise strategies to modify the activity of this pathway in the adult. The overall goal is develop new strategies by which to regenerate damaged brain tissue.