BACKGROUND:  Neural stem cells are a promising source of cells for research and clinical uses. NSCs in culture express both nestin and PSA-NCAM, markers characteristic of the stem cell phenotype. A limitation on studying NSCs is that they're difficult to maintain and propagate. If maintained in culture for an extended period of time, NSCs would start losing their stem cell markers and slowly differentiate into other cell types with different characteristics. Therefore, culturing NSCs is expensive and time-consuming. Moreover, variations in the composition of the cell culture media and environmental factors often make it difficult for comparison between experiments and between groups of researchers.

INNOVATION:  Researchers at UCLA have generated a novel formula for culturing NSCs.

ADVANTAGES