Start of funding 01.07.2002

Stem cells of the Adult Brain – Regulation of Migration

Dr. Ludwig Aigner
University of Regensburg

Prof. Dr. Joseph G. Gleeson
University of California, San Diego
Department of Neurosciences



Neural stem cells exist in the developing and adult CNS. They are characterized by their potential to proliferate, to self renew and to produce the three major cell types in the CNS, neurons, astroglia and oligodendroglia. Neuronal determined cells have to migrate in certain cases a long distance from their place of origin to their final destination. Doublecortin is a gene that is specifically expressed in migrating neuronal precursors during development and in the adult. In humans, mutations in the doublecortin gene cause neuronal migration disorders, where neuronal precursors fail to migrate properly and cause brain malformations that are associated with a wide clinical spectrum including epileptic seizures, mental retardation, premature death or embryonic or early postnatal lethality. The aim of this project is to analyze in conjunction with Prof. Dr. J. Gleeson, our Californian collaborator, neuronal migration in mice where the doublecortin gene is deleted to get a closer insight into the mechanisms of neuronal migration and its disorders.