Role of Growth Factor Receptors in Neural Stem Cells Differentiation and Dopaminergic Neurons Generation

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are defined as clonogenic cells with self-renewal capacity and multilineage potential (Bazan et al., 2004). Cells with these characteristics have been isolated from the embryonic and adult Central Nervous System (CNS) (Gil-Perotin et al., 2009; Merkle & Alvarez-Buylla, 2006; Weiss et al., 1996). Under specific conditions, these cells proliferate in culture as cell clusters, called neurospheres, and differentiate into neurons, glia, and non-neural cell types (Kennea & Mehmet, 2002; Lobo et al., 2003; Reynolds & Weiss, 1992; Vescovi et al., 2002; Arias-Carrion & Yuan, 2009). Moreover, these cultures represent a potential source for cell replacement therapies in neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) (Bjugstad et al., 2008; Pluchino et al., 2005; Reimers et al., 2011; Zhu et al, 2009).