New glial cells discovered in the brain: Implications for brain repair | University of Basel
Neurons, nerve cells in the brain, are central players in brain function. However, a key role for glia, long considered support cells, is emerging. A research group at the University of Basel has now discovered two new types of glial cells in the brain, by unleashing adult stem cells from their quiescent state. These new types of glia may play an important role in brain plasticity and repair.
The brain is malleable well into adulthood. Brain plasticity is not only due to the formation of new nerve connections. Stem cells present in the adult brain also generate new nerve cells. For more than a hundred years, scientists have concentrated on investigating different types of nerve cells.
In the brain, however, another class of cells, called glia, are also essential for brain function. However, the importance of glial cells has been underestimated for decades. How many types of glia there are, how they develop and what roles they play are all still largely unexplored.
The research group of Prof. Fiona Doetsch at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel is investigating stem cells in the ventricular-subventricular zone in the adult mouse brain. In this region, many of the stem cells are in a quiescent state, sensing signals in the environment that stimulate them to awaken and transform into new nerve cells.
