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Quiescent neural stem cells transiently become neuron-like to coordinate long-range reactivation.

Overview

Authors: Laura-Yvonne Gherghina1,2,3, Jocelyn L Y Tang1,2,3, Leo Otsuki2,3,4, Leia Judge2,3,5, Andrea H Brand1,2,3
ORCID iDs: Laura-Yvonne Gherghina, Leo Otsuki, Andrea H Brand
  1. Department of Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Institute, NYU Grossman School of Medicine,New York, NY USA
  2. Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge,Cambridge, UK
  3. Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge,Cambridge, UK
  4. Present Address: Hubrecht Institute – KNAW and University Medical Center Utrecht,Utrecht, The Netherlands
  5. Present Address: Springer Nature,4 Crinan Street, London, UK
Institutions: New York University (United States); University of Cambridge (United Kingdom); University Medical Center Utrecht (Netherlands); Springer Nature (United Kingdom) (United Kingdom)
Journal: The EMBO journal, volume 45, issue 11, pages 3788-3807
Dates: received 9 July 2025; accepted 26 March 2026; published online 24 April 2026; in print June 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI 10.1038/s44318-026-00775-3 · PMID 42032079 · PMCID PMC13226747 · OpenAlex W7155526625
Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: data only
Categories: drosophila (organism)
Methods: Statistics, Evoked potentials
Keywords: Neuroscience, Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine
MeSH: Drosophila melanogaster*, Neural Stem Cells*, Neurons*, Animals, Cell Differentiation, Cell Proliferation, Central Nervous System, Drosophila, Drosophila Proteins (* major topic)
Topic: Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation (Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology), according to OpenAlex
Funding: Wellcome Trust (103792, 223111, 203798, 092096, 097423); Royal Society (The Royal Society) (RP150061); Cancer Research UK (C6946/A14492)
Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 44 references in the paper

Abstract

Reactivation of quiescent neural stem cells (NSCs) in the central nervous system (CNS) is a tightly controlled process that generates new neurons and glia to maintain homeostasis or enable repair post-injury, but it remains unclear if reactivation of distinct NSC populations is coupled. Here, we discovered that NSC quiescence exit in Drosophila follows a hierarchical sequence, whereby activation of anterior stem cells in the brain lobes precedes and is required for the timely state-transition of more posterior NSCs in the ventral nerve cord. To achieve this, quiescent NSCs transiently activate neuronal genes. This transient neuronal state is temporary and specific to NSC dormancy, as neuronal genes are switched off after stem cells resume proliferation. Blocking neuronal firing in brain lobe neurons delays the onset of posterior NSC reactivation. Our results reveal long-range communication between quiescent NSCs to coordinate reactivation across the CNS, enabled by a transient, plastic neuron-like state that allows direct interaction with neuronal axons.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Data

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Data availability

scRNAseq is available on GEO: GSE319955 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE319955).

The source data of this paper are collected in the following database record: biostudies:S-SCDT-10_1038-S44318-026-00775-3 (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/sourcedata/studies/S-SCDT-10_1038-S44318-026-00775-3).

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 1, 30 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 5 authors, 2 keywords, 9 MeSH terms, 3 funders, 44 references.

Cite

This paper

Gherghina, L.-Y., Tang, J. L. Y., Otsuki, L., Judge, L., & Brand, A. H. (2026). Quiescent neural stem cells transiently become neuron-like to coordinate long-range reactivation. The EMBO journal, 45(11), 3788-3807. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44318-026-00775-3

BibTeX

@article{gherghina2026quiescent,
author = {Gherghina, Laura-Yvonne and Tang, Jocelyn L Y and Otsuki, Leo and Judge, Leia and Brand, Andrea H},
title = {{Quiescent neural stem cells transiently become neuron-like to coordinate long-range reactivation}},
journal = {The EMBO journal},
year = {2026},
month = apr,
volume = {45},
number = {11},
pages = {3788--3807},
publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
issn = {0261-4189},
doi = {10.1038/s44318-026-00775-3},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s44318-026-00775-3},
pmid = {42032079},
pmcid = {PMC13226747}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Gherghina, Laura-Yvonne
AU - Tang, Jocelyn L Y
AU - Otsuki, Leo
AU - Judge, Leia
AU - Brand, Andrea H
TI - Quiescent neural stem cells transiently become neuron-like to coordinate long-range reactivation
T2 - The EMBO journal
J2 - EMBO J
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/04/24
VL - 45
IS - 11
SP - 3788
EP - 3807
SN - 0261-4189
PB - Nature Publishing Group
DO - 10.1038/s44318-026-00775-3
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s44318-026-00775-3
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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"issued": {
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