Mobilization of neural stem cells and generation of new neurons in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats by intracerebroventricular infusion of liver growth factor.

Neural stem cells with self-renewal and multilineage potential persist in the subventricular zone of the adult mammalian forebrain. These cells remain relatively quiescent but, under certain conditions, can be stimulated, giving rise to new neurons. Liver growth factor (LGF) is a mitogen for liver cells that shows biological activity in extrahepatic sites and is useful for neuroregenerative therapies.

Driving neural stem cells towards a desired phenotype.

Neural stem cells are defined as clonogenic cells with self-renewal capacity and the ability to generate all neural lineages. Cells with these characteristics have been isolated from the embryonic and adult Central Nervous System. Numerous reports show that extrinsic factors and intracellular mechanisms may trigger both endogenous and in vitro cultured neural stem cells to differentiate into desired cell outcomes.