Review Article

Using the Neurofibromatosis Tumor Predisposition Syndromes to Understand Normal Nervous System Development

Figure 1

Normal brain development. The nervous system develops from neural stem cells (NSCs) capable of self-renewal, which can divide and generate cells with equal developmental potential. These NSCs also generate differentiated cell types, such as glial-restricted and neuron-restricted progenitors, which further give rise to astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and neurons. The expansion of progenitors and their progeny is dependent on orderly cell cycle progression and controlled escape from programmed cell death (apoptosis). Developing cells also form cell-cell interactions through cell adhesion molecules, which transmit regulatory signals to influence cell growth and migration. Finally, both progenitor and differentiated cell types actively induce the formation of blood vessels to provide oxygen and nutrients.
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