Understanding neural stem cell regulation in vivo and applying the insights to cell therapy for strokes

The use of neural stem cell (NSC) therapy for the treatment of stroke patients is successfully paving its way into advanced phases of large-scale clinical trials. To understand how to optimize NSC therapeutic approaches, it is fundamental to decipher the crosstalk between NSC and other cells that comprise the NSC microenvironment (niche) and regulate their function, in vivo; namely, the endothelial cells of the microvasculature. In this mini review, we first provide a concise summary of preclinical findings describing the signaling mechanisms between NSC and vascular endothelial cells and vice versa. Second, we describe the progress made in the development of NSC therapy for the treatment of strokes.