Notch and EGFR pathway interaction

Notch and EGFR pathway interaction regulates neural stem cell number and
self-renewal

Specialized cellular microenvironments, or ‘niches’, modulate stem cell properties, including cell number, self-renewal and fate decisions1, 2. In the
adult brain, niches that maintain a source of neural stem cells (NSCs) and neural
progenitor cells (NPCs) are the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral
ventricle and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus3, 4, 5. The size of the NSC
population of the SVZ at any time is the result of several ongoing processes,
including self-renewal, cell differentiation, and cell death.
Maintaining the balance between NSCs and NPCs in the SVZ niche is critical to



Nature 467, 323-327 (16 September 2010) |
doi:10.1038/nature09347;