Building a central nervous system: The neural stem cell lineage revealed

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are a multipotent, self-renewing source of undifferentiated cells in the periventricular region of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Since their original discovery 25 years ago, much has been learned about their development, persistence, localization, properties and potential. Herein we discuss the current state of knowledge pertaining to neural stem cells with a focus on the lineage relationship between two NSC populations along the neuraxis and their regionally distinct niches in the CNS.