How do neural stem cells maintain quiescence?

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  Project Leader
  A/Professor Louise Cheng

  lcheng1@unimelb.edu.au

  View researcher's webpage

Project Details

^{Lipid droplet (red) and Hh (blue) in the glial niche co-operate to non-autonomously regulate NSC proliferation}

The brain is the cognitive control centre of the body consisting of neurons and glia made by multipotent progenitor cells called Neural Stem Cells (NSCs). In the adult mammalian brain, NSCs exists in a mitotically inactive (quiescent G0) state but can proliferate in response to environmental inputs such as feeding or exercise, which provide a regenerative reserve for tissue repair and age-related cell loss. We are interested in identifying non-cell autonomous signals from the stem cell niche and the adipose tissue that can influence whether stem cells proliferate or stay quiescent.

Researchers

Qian Dong

Collaborators

Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute

Research Publications

Froldi, F., et al. (2020). Glial Hedgehog and lipid metabolism regulate neural stem cell proliferation in Drosophila. EMBO.  https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.18.100990