Richard Harland
C.H. Li Distinguished Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Development
Molecular and Cell Biology
University of California, Berkeley

In the adult mammalian brain, the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricular wall produces large numbers of neurons throughout life. The structural and molecular characteristics of the cells present in the sub-ventricular zone have been described, as has the lineage from stem cell to committed neuroblast. However, the molecular mechanisms that govern the stem cell properties of this population are poorly understood. Previous studies have suggested that BMP signaling regulates the behavior of neural progenitors, and BMPs and their cognate receptors are expressed in the subventricular zone. The secreted BMP antagonist Noggin enhances neurogenesis both in culture and when ectopically expressed in the adult brain. Our laboratory is investigating the role of BMPs and Noggin in subventricular zone stem cell differentiation in vivo using conditional mouse mutants, and in vitro by culturing subventricular zone - derived neural progenitor cells obtained from these mice.