Dormant stem cells — and the signals that activate them — are widespread across surfaces in adult mouse brains.

Yi Eve Sun and Siguang Li of Tongji University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China, and their colleagues analysed patterns of gene expression in individual cells from some regions of the adult mouse brain, looking for patterns that are characteristic of stem cells. They found resting stem cells lining the surfaces of cavities where cerebrospinal fluid is made, and lining the central canal of the spinal cord. Gene-network analysis revealed that these stem cells could be activated by molecules that are released in response to injury.

When treated with such triggers, the cells in the animal began to develop into neurons, which suggests that their function is to repair neural damage.

Cell http://doi.org/4sk (2015)