Glioma migration: clues from the biology of neural progenitor cells and embryonic CNS cell migration.

Neural stem cells have recently come to the forefront in neurobiology because of the possibilities for CNS repair by transplantation. Further understanding of the biology of these cells is critical for making their use in CNS repair possible. It is likely that these discoveries will also have spin-offs for neuro-oncology as primary brain tumors may arise from a CNS progenitor cell. An understanding of the normal migratory ability of these cells is also likely to have a very important impact on the knowledge of brain tumor invasion.