Effect of flow-stimulated vascular endothelial cell extracellular matrix on neural progenitor cell fate

Damage to the central nervous system caused by injury or disease effects millions of people yearly. Neural stem and progenitor cell mediated therapies are a promising method of treatment for this damage. Before these therapies can be considered for clinical use, however, a deeper understanding of direction of in vivo neural progenitor cell (NPC) fate must be gained. In this study, a model of one site of active neurogenesis in the adult brain, the subventricular zone, is created utilizing flow and static stimulated conditioned media and extracellular matrix from microvascular endothelial cells in combination with primary NPCs. With this model we have demonstrated that flow and static EC-ECM has differential effects on NPC survival and differentiation.