The olfactory epithelium (OE) is the oldest recognized source of potential neural stem cells in the adult vertebrate. what can we learn from this, to drive neural stem cells in deeper parts of the brain? As olfactory neurons die, they direct local progenitors (globose or horizontal basal cells) to guide their own replacement. Why does this not happen as effectively in the human brain? TOur previous findings have lead us to look in the CNS to test how brain progenitors are regulated after iunjury and in neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer's). These projects are being lead by Anthony Berndt, Athena Chou, Kathryn Westendorf and Laila Abassi.

Adherent basal cell progenitors can generate many different OE phenotypes in vitro

Funding: CIHR (Canada) and The Stem Cell Network

We (Anthony Berndt and Sam Lloyd-Burton) are looking at a matricellular protein, SPARC (Secreted Protein, Acidic, Rich in Cysteines), and testing if it is a key regulator of the neural stem cell activation environment. We (Christie McShane and Kathryn Westendorf) are also testing if BLBP (FABP7), a key protein in embryonic neural stem cells and radial glia, is involved in the regulation of neural stem cell or primitive glial state, in the adult brain. To date, we have identified several classes of olfactory progenitors in vitro, including a multipotent neuroglial progenitor.

Differentiating OP 6 cells - embryonically-derived lines that model ORN development