Pollard Steven M, Conti Luciano
Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research, University of Cambridge,Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QR, United Kingdom.
Prog Neurobiol. 2007 Sep;83(1):53-67. doi: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2007.02.008. Epub 2007 Mar 7.
During mammalian neurogenesis newly born neurons migrate radially along the extended bipolar process of cells termed radial glia. Our views of radial glia as a 'static' support/guide cell have changed over recent years. It is now clear that within the developing cortex, and possibly the entire central nervous system (CNS), radial glia actively divide, producing daughter cells that include both neurons and glia. A subset of forebrain radial glia may serve as the founders of adult forebrain neural stem cells and genetic disruption of normal radial glia function can result in tumorigenesis or congenital neurological disorders. Elucidating the cell intrinsic and environmental cues that regulate radial glia behaviour is therefore essential for a full understanding of mammalian CNS development and physiology. Here, we review those studies in which radial glia have been investigated in vitro following isolation from foetal tissues or differentiation of embryonic stem (ES) cells. We discuss how these approaches, together with an ability to expand radial glia-like neural stem (NS) cell lines, may offer unique opportunities in basic and applied neurobiology.
在哺乳动物神经发生过程中，新生成的神经元沿着被称为放射状胶质细胞的细胞伸出的双极突起进行径向迁移。近年来，我们对放射状胶质细胞作为一种“静态”支持/引导细胞的看法已经发生了改变。现在很清楚，在发育中的皮质以及可能整个中枢神经系统（CNS）中，放射状胶质细胞会积极分裂，产生包括神经元和胶质细胞在内的子细胞。前脑放射状胶质细胞的一个亚群可能是成体前脑神经干细胞的来源，正常放射状胶质细胞功能的基因破坏会导致肿瘤发生或先天性神经疾病。因此，阐明调节放射状胶质细胞行为的细胞内在和环境线索对于全面理解哺乳动物中枢神经系统的发育和生理学至关重要。在这里，我们回顾了那些在从胎儿组织中分离或胚胎干细胞（ES）分化后对放射状胶质细胞进行体外研究的实验。我们讨论了这些方法，以及扩展放射状胶质细胞样神经干细胞（NS）系的能力，如何在基础和应用神经生物学中提供独特的机会。
