Peering into early neurogenesis with embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem (ES) cells transplanted into the early mouse embryo have the capacity to differentiate into all cell types of the nervous system. A simplified culture system has been developed in which single ES cells transform into neural progenitor cells that go on to form neurospheres. This system is ideally suited for mechanistic studies of the earliest stages of neurogenesis. In this model, signaling via fibroblast growth factor and bone morphogenetic protein family members is important for the first steps of neural progenitor differentiation.