# Deciphering the microenvironment of adult neurogenesis: a perspective from neurodegenerative diseases

## TL;DR

This review explores how dysfunction in the environment of adult neural stem cells may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases and suggests restoring this environment as a new therapeutic approach.

## Contribution

The paper proposes that NSC microenvironment dysfunction, not just neuron loss, drives neurodegeneration and highlights its restoration as a novel therapeutic strategy.

## Key findings

- Impaired adult neurogenesis and NSC dysfunction contribute to neurodegenerative diseases.
- The NSC microenvironment includes cytokine networks, neuronal activity, and extracellular matrix.
- Restoring the NSC microenvironment could be a promising direction for stem cell-based therapies.

## Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by progressive neuron loss and brain atrophy. While conventional studies focused on neuronal death as the primary cause of these diseases, accumulating evidence suggests that impaired neurogenesis, particularly the dysfunction of adult neural stem cells (NSCs), may also contribute significantly to disease pathogenesis. Adult neurogenesis occurs primarily in two adult NSC niches. These specialized niches are enriched with complex cytokine networks, neuronal activity, and non-cellular components such as the extracellular matrix. Understanding the regulation of NSCs in the adult brain and how their dysregulation exacerbates neurodegeneration provides novel insights into therapeutic strategies. This review proposes that dysfunction of the NSC microenvironment, rather than neuronal death alone, may drive neurodegeneration, and that restoring this microenvironment offers a novel research direction of stem cell-based therapies.