The asymmetric mitosis neural stem cells (NSCs) produces one NSC and one neural progenitor cell (NPC), neural progenitor cell is a biological cell that, like a neural stem cell, has a tendency to differentiate into a specific type of cell, but is already more specific than a stem cell and is pushed to differentiate into its "target" cell. The most important difference between neural stem cells and neural progenitor cells is that neural stem cells can replicate indefinitely, whereas neural progenitor cells can divide only a limited number of times. However, the Controversy about the exact definition remains and the concept is still evolving.
There are four types of neural progenitor cell. Neurogenesis in mammals commences with the induction of the neuroectoderm, which is followed by the formation of the neural plate, which folds to form the neural tube. These structures are composed of neuroepithelial progenitors (NEP) that are responsible for neurogenesis in the neural tube. NEPs also give rise to two other types of neural progenitor cell, radial glia and basal progenitors. Radial glia are the dominant progenitor cell type in the developing brain whereas basal progenitors are specifically located at the subventricular zone (SVZ) in the developing telencephalon. In the adult brain, adult progenitors in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus and the SVZ of the lateral ventricles, are thought to functionally contribute to brain plasticity and repair.
