CMS STEM-CELLS - WHERES THE BIOLOGY (A.K.A. BEEF)

Central nervous system (CNS) stem cells have become the subject of man y laboratories' efforts, presentations, and publications. Yet, in the stem cell world, CNS cells are viewed with skepticism. This is likely due to a dearth of biology (in vivo function) to accompany a flurry of phenomenological and restorative neurology studies. In this article, we compare and contrast the biological knowledge of adult forebrain ep idermal growth factor-responsive neural stem cells that has emerged fr om our laboratories with that of hematopoietic stem cells, using two r ecent papers in the latter field as specific examples. A comparison of stem cell location, lineage, and repopulation suggests that our under standing of CNS stem cell biology is immature. We conclude that a grea ter focus on in vivo biology will enhance our knowledge and understand ing of CNS stem cells. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.