Andrea Brand, PhD

Frederick L. Ehrman Professor of Cell Biology, Department of Cell Biology

Professor, Department of Neuroscience

NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Host(s): Minoree Kohwi (Faculty), Tanguy Lucas (Postdoc), Juniper Glass-Klaiber (Student)

Time To Wake Up: Regulation Of Neural Stem Cell Quiescence

Quiescence is an actively maintained state of reversible cell cycle arrest: cells stop proliferating and remain stalled in either the G0 or G2 phase of the cell cycle. Both developing and adult tissues maintain pools of quiescent stem cells. Cell cycle re-entry (reactivation) of quiescent stem cells occurs during growth and in response to injury or disease, to generate or replace differentiated cells. During Drosophila development, neural stem cells become quiescent in late embryogenesis and reactivate in early larval development, giving rise to neurons and glia that contribute to the adult nervous system. Reactivation of quiescent neural stem cells (qNSCs) is a coordinated process that generates new neurons and glia to maintain homeostasis or enable repair post-injury. We discovered that NSC reactivation follows a hierarchical sequence, whereby anterior qNSCs in the brain lobes control the timely reactivation of more posterior qNSCs in the ventral nerve cord. To achieve this, qNSCs transiently express neuronal genes and contact neurons to relay reactivation. This transient neuronal state is unique to qNSCs, as neuronal genes are turned off once stem cells resume proliferation. Our results reveal long-range communication between qNSCs that coordinates reactivation across the entire CNS, enabled by a transient, remarkably plastic, neuronal-like stem cell state that allows direct interaction with axons.

Relevant Publications

Quiescent neural stem cells transiently become ‘neurons’ to coordinate reactivation

Tuesdays@10 is a signature Zuckerman Institute initiative that aims to expose researchers at all levels to high-quality science and stimulate scientific discourse. The speakers featured in this series represent various fields and techniques in neuroscience, and include invited guests of the Columbia Neuroscience Seminars, the Zuckerman Institute's Local Circuits Affiliates Program, and other special seminar series through a combined, collaborative effort of one or more of the following: Columbia's Zuckerman Institute, the Center for Precision Psychiatry, the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, the Department of Neuroscience, the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior and the Columbia Translational Neuroscience Initiative, and with support from the Kavli Institute for Brain Science. 

More information and a full schedule can be found here.