Ohshima Lab

In mammalian, newly generated neurons in the adult brain plays an important role for learning and memory. In addition, in the medical aspect, regulation of the proliferation and differentiation of the neural stem cells (NSCs) is one of the key technique for regenerative medicine of central nervous system (CNS). NSCs transplantation strategies might have therapeutic promise in treating adult CNS disorders characterized by loss of neuronal or glial cells. In the adult teleost brain, NSCs are distributed in various brain regions, and continue to produce new neurons and glial cells through their life. We focus on the molecular mechanisms of proliferation and differentiation of NSCs in the adult zebrafish optic tectum, and try to reveal the general molecular machinery of proliferation and differentiation of NSCs.