NEUROBLASTS - A MODEL FOR THE ASYMMETRIC DIVISION OF STEM-CELLS

The ability of stem cells to self-renew has long been attributed to an asymmetry in division that generates one daughter cell identical to t he mother and another cell committed to differentiation. Recent studie s on neuroblasts, a group of neural stem cells responsible for generat ing various neurons and glial cells in the central nervous system, hav e revealed exiting mechanisms that underlie self-renewing asymmetric d ivision. Several important localized cell fate determinants have been characterized, and their segregation mechanism has been explored in th e context of cytoskeletal organization, cell-cycle progression, cytoki nesis and mitotic orientation. These findings are illuminating in unde rstanding the general mechanism of stem cell division.