Neural progenitor cells grafted to sites of spinal cord injury have supported electrophysiological and functional recovery in several studies. Mechanisms associated with graft-related improvements in outcome appear dependent on functional synaptic integration of graft and host systems, although the extent and diversity of synaptic integration of grafts with hosts are unknown. Using transgenic m...

Distinct classes of neurons are generated from progenitor cells distributed in characteristic dorsoventral patterns in the developing spinal neural tube. We define restricted neural progenitor populations by the discrete, nonoverlapping expression of Ngn1, Math1, and Mash1. Crossinhibition between these bHLH factors is demonstrated and provides a mechanism for the generation of discrete bHLH ex...

Human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESC) have not only the abilities to differentiate to specific neural subtype such as neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, but also providing the model system for studying neurulation in early embryonic development. In theory, neural progenitor derived from hESC may provide a new approach for the repair of spinal cord injury since the idea of replacing cells to ...