Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2016, Vol. 11 ›› Issue (10): 1540-1544.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.193221

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Perspectives on the role of Pannexin 1 in neural precursor cell biology

Juan C. Sanchez-Arias1, Leigh E. Wicki-Stordeur1, Leigh Anne Swayne1, 2, *   

  1. 1 Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada 2 Island Medical Program and Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • Received:2016-10-14 Online:2016-10-31 Published:2016-10-31
  • Contact: Leigh Anne Swayne, Ph.D., lswayne@uvic.c
  • Supported by:
    Research in the Swayne lab was supported by operating grants to LAS from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC Discovery Grant), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR Grant MOP142215), Te Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of Canada and the University of Victoria Division of Medical Sciences and by infrastructure grants from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF). LAS was supported by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and British Columbia Schizophrenia Society Foundation Scholar Award. JCSA was supported by a University of Victoria Fellowship Graduate Award. LEWS was supported by a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (NSERC)

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Abstract: We recently reported that targeted deletion of Pannexin 1 in neural precursor cells of the ventricular zone impairs the maintenance of these cells in healthy and stroke-injured brain. Here we frame this exciting new fnding in the context of our previous studies on Pannexin 1 in neural precursors as well as the close relationship between Pannexin 1 and purinergic receptors established by other groups. Moreover, we identify important gaps in our understanding of Pannexin 1 in neural precursor cell biology in terms of the underlying molecular mechanisms and functional/behavioural outcomes.

Key words: neural precursor, ventricular zone, pannexin, ATP, cytoskeleton, proliferation, phagoptos