Data from National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Provide New Insights into Angiogenesis

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Angiogenesis Weekly -- Fresh data on Angiogenesis are presented in a new report. According to news reporting out of Marseille, France, by NewsRx editors, research stated, "Neural stem cells are maintained in the adult brain, sustaining structural and functional plasticity and to some extent participating in brain repair. A thorough understanding of the mechanisms and factors involved in endogenous stem/progenitor cell mobilization is a major challenge in the promotion of spontaneous brain repair."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), "The main neural stem cell niche in the adult brain is the subventricular zone (SVZ). Following demyelination insults, SVZ-derived progenitors act in concert with oligodendrocyte precursors to repopulate the lesion and replace lost oligodendrocytes. Here, we showed robust vascular reactivity within the SVZ after focal demyelination of the corpus callosum in adult mice, together with a remarkable physical association between these vessels and neural progenitors exiting from their niche. Endogenous progenitor cell recruitment towards the lesion was significantly reduced by inhibiting post-lesional angiogenesis in the SVZ using anti-VEGF blocking antibody injections, suggesting a facilitating role of blood vessels for progenitor cell migration towards the lesion. We identified netrin 1 (NTN1) as a key factor upregulated within the SVZ after demyelination and involved in! local angiogenesis and progenitor cell migration. Blocking NTN1 expression using a neutralizing antibody inhibited both lesion-induced vascular reactivity and progenitor cell recruitment at the lesion site."