Source: Jennifer O'Brien, UCSF News Services
September 4, 2007

Neural Stem Cell Study Reveals Mechanism that May Play Role in Cancer

In the dynamic world of the developing brain, neural stem cells give rise to neurons deep within the brain's fluid-filled ventricles. These newborn neurons then migrate along the stem cell fibers up to the neocortex, the seat of higher cognitive functions. Now, scientists have discovered a key mechanism of this migration - one that may also play an important role in other developmental processes and diseases, including cancer.

The finding, the cover story in a recent issue of Nature (Aug. 23, 2007), was led by Laura Elias, a neuroscience graduate student in the laboratory of senior author Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, a professor of neurology and director of the UCSF Institute for Regeneration Medicine.

Elias is one of 16 UCSF CIRM Stem Cell Scholars -- up and coming young scientists funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, established by California voters in 2004 to allocate $3 billion over 10 years to support stem cell research.

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