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Adult Stem Cells pp 163–179Cite as

Surrogate Measures of Adult Stem Cell Self-Renewal: The Neural Stem Cell Paradigm

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Part of the book series: Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine ((STEMCELL))

Abstract

Since the discovery that neural stem cells (NSCs) reside within specific neurogenic regions of the adult brain, much effort has been devoted to delineating their unique biology and evaluating their therapeutic potential to treat injury and disease. This chapter provides an overview of NSC biology and examines in detail methods used to study the biology and function of these cells. Emphasis is placed on in vitro assays, such as the neurosphere and neural colony-forming assays develo­ped to propagate and enumerate NSCs. The physical and metaphysical limitations of these assays with respect to their capacity to delineate between stem, progenitor, and nonstem cells are discussed together with obstacles associated with developing in vivo assays to measure stem cell function and potency.

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Abbreviations

EGF:

Epidermal growth factor

HSC:

Hematopoietic stem cell

NCFCA:

Neural colony-forming cell assay

NSA:

Neurosphere assay

NSC:

Neural stem cell

RMS:

Rostral migratory stream

SGZ:

Subgranular zone

SVZ:

Subventricular zone

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, 100 Newell Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA

    Loic P. Deleyrolle & Florian A. Siebzehnrubl

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  1. Loic P. Deleyrolle
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  2. Brent A. Reynolds
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  3. Florian A. Siebzehnrubl
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Correspondence to Loic P. Deleyrolle or Florian A. Siebzehnrubl .

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  1. , Department of Molecular Therapeutics, The Scripps Research Institute, 130 Scripps Way, Jupiter, 33458, Florida, USA

    Donald G. Phinney

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Deleyrolle, L.P., Reynolds, B.A., Siebzehnrubl, F.A. (2011). Surrogate Measures of Adult Stem Cell Self-Renewal: The Neural Stem Cell Paradigm. In: Phinney, D. (eds) Adult Stem Cells. Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-002-7_7

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