Rebecca Makin

• BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences
• Identifying the metabolic fuel requirements of adult neural progenitor cells.

This study investigated the effects of limiting glucose and fatty acid oxidation on proliferation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) within the brain. NPCs are specialised stem cells found mainly within the sub ventricular zone (SVZ) of the adult brain. These cells have the ability to stay in a proliferative undifferentiated state or differentiate into neurones or glial cells and are also the cells of origin of adult glioma tumours. Knowledge of the fuel requirements of these cells may provide an insight into ways in which degenerative brain defects could be reversed or utilised as a treatment for adult glioma tumours. 

Funding source: Newcastle University