Our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie these phenomena are in their infancy, but there is a

new sense of optimism that regenerative medicine approaches will someday provide treatments for sensory disorders. The authors acknowledge the many discussions on regeneration in sensory epithelia that they have had over the years with the members of the current Reh/Bermingham-McDonogh labs, past members Selleckchem OSI 906 of our labs, especially Drs. M.O. Karl, B. Nelson, T. Hayashi, and B. Hartman, and colleagues at the University of Washington, including Drs. E. Rubel, D. Raible, J. Stone, E. Oesterle, and C. Hume. Research in the authors’ labs are supported by the grants DC005953, DC009991, DC010862, EY021482, EY021374, and

PO1 GM081619-01 from the National Institutes of Health and TA-CBT-0608-0464-UWA-WG from the Foundation Fighting Blindness. “
“Accounting for only 2% of the body mass, yet receiving 20% of the cardiac Palbociclib cell line output, the mammalian brain critically relies on an elaborate vascular network for its oxygen and nutrient supply. Estimations suggest that the human brain contains up to 100 billion vessels, i.e., a vessel for each neuron. The vascular system developed more recently in evolution than the nervous system. In primitive organisms such as C. elegans, the need for motor coordination triggered development of a nervous system, but since oxygen diffuses to all cells in these small

species, there was no need to develop an elaborate vasculature. Only later in evolution, when organisms became larger and (metabolically) more active, a more efficient system for oxygen transportation was required. Hence, in vertebrates, a highly branched vasculature lined by an endothelium developed to nourish organs including the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). A key ancestral function of vessels is to supply oxygen and nutrients. Hence, shortage of oxygen is a key stimulus to vascularize the developing CNS. However, the role of vessels in the CNS extends Megestrol Acetate beyond merely supplying nutrients. Indeed, by releasing “angiocrine” factors, endothelial cells (ECs) not only produce instructive signals for neural development, but also support normal functioning, ensure maintenance, and promote reparative regeneration of the CNS (Butler et al., 2010). Moreover, to maintain neuronal homeostasis, brain vessels have a blood-brain barrier (BBB), comprising ECs, pericytes (e.g., mural cells of the vascular smooth muscle lineage surrounding capillaries), astrocytic endfeet, and neurons (Zlokovic, 2008). This “neurovascular unit” is only one of the examples of the intertwined connection between the neural and vascular system.