NAD+ controls neural stem cell fate in the aging brain

Abstract

Loss of the coenzyme NAD+, which is required for many energy‐dependent cellular processes, has emerged as a potentially unifying mechanism for age‐related conditions. A study in this issue of The EMBO Journal identifies a novel link between depletion of NAD+ and age‐associated loss of proliferating adult neural stem/progenitor cells in the murine brain (Stein & Imai, [2014][1]). These data have important implications for how brain function might decline with age. [1]: #ref-8