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Meningeal Multipotent Cells: A Hidden Target for CNS Repair?

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Abstract

Traditionally, the primary role of the meninges is thought to be structural, i.e., to act as a surrounding membrane that contains and cushions the brain with cerebrospinal fluid. During development, the meninges is formed by both mesenchymal and neural crest cells. There is now emerging evidence that subsets of undifferentiated stem cells might persist in the adult meninges. In this mini-review, we survey representative studies of brain-meningeal interactions and discuss the hypothesis that the meninges are not just protective membranes, but instead contain multiplex stem cell subsets that may contribute to central nervous system (CNS) homeostasis. Further investigations into meningeal multipotent cells may reveal a “hidden” target for promoting neurovascular remodeling and repair after CNS injury and disease.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroprotection Research Laboratories, Departments of Radiology and Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA

    Kazuhide Hayakawa & Eng H. Lo

  2. Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Evan Y. Snyder

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  1. Kazuhide Hayakawa
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  2. Evan Y. Snyder
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  3. Eng H. Lo
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EHL, EYS, and KH contributed to manuscript preparation.

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Correspondence to Kazuhide Hayakawa.

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Hayakawa, K., Snyder, E.Y. & Lo, E.H. Meningeal Multipotent Cells: A Hidden Target for CNS Repair?. Neuromol Med 23, 339–343 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-021-08663-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12017-021-08663-1

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