A new study led by researchers at Uppsala University and
Wellesley College, USA, demonstrates that the immune system in crayfish can
produce cells with stem cell properties. These cells can then develop into new
nerve cells in the adult animal. The findings were recently published in the
journal Developmental Cell.
For years, researchers have tried to determine how nerve
cells are produced and integrated into the brain throughout adult life. In a
new study, a team of international scientists provides evidence that adult-born
neurons in crayfish are derived from a special type of circulating blood cell
produced by the immune system.