Functional roles of astrocytes in modulating neural stem and progenitor cells in the adult mammalian spinal cord

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Adult mammalian spinal cord lacks the ability for self repair despite the presence of tissue-specific neural stem cells (NSCs) inside the spinal cord. During the developmental growth, NSCs show the capacity to give rise to all types of spinal cord cells including neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes and build the spinal cord. However, in the adult spinal cord, the regenerative activity of NSCs is significantly restricted. Interestingly, evidence from our research and that of others demonstrates that injuries to the adult spinal cord result in limited oligodendroglial cell replacement, a glial cell type required for generating myelin sheath around the spinal cord nerve fibers. These findings strongly suggest the presence of environmental factors that tightly regulate the innate potential of NSCs within the adult spinal cord.