'Housekeeping' Mechanism for Brain Stem Cells Discovered

'Housekeeping' Mechanism for Brain Stem Cells Discovered http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120422134800.htm Reaserchers from Columbia University Medical Center have identified a molecular pathway that controls the retention and release of the brain’s stem cells. It is their hope that this can eventually lead to regenerative therapy for several stem cell diseases. The research is based on several other recent studies that show that stem cells reside in specific niches that support and maintain them. "From this research, we knew that when stem cells detach from their niche, they lose their identity as stem cells and begin to differentiate into specific cell types," stem cells in the brain are carefully regulated and with careful study and experiments on mice they theorize that they may eventually be able to manipulate the stem cells to help heal deficiencies in the brain. This could affect everyone with brain problems as well as people who study brains and stem cells.