Cell cycle arrest mediates the fate of embryonic neural progenitor cells

Neural stem cells (NSCs) in the adult mouse brain regulate innate and adaptive behaviors and represent an important system to understand mechanisms of neurogenesis. Adult NSCs in the subventricular zone (SVZ) are derived from a subpopulation of embryonic neural stem-progenitor cells (NPCs) that is characterized by a slower cell cycle relative to the more abundant rapid cycling NPCs that give rise to the brain. High expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) p57 in the slowly dividing subpopulation inhibits proliferation and neural differentiation and is required for genesis of adult NSCs (Furutachi et al., 2015). Here, we are examining the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which embryonic cell cycle inhibition maintains the undifferentiated state of embryonic NPCs resulting in the emergence of a stable population of postnatal adult NSCs.