eLife has discovered another key protein for stem cell division

Cell division is the key to the development of multicellular organisms (including humans), and the dysregulation of this process is the basis of many diseases, including the development and spread of cancer

The first author of the IRB Barcelona Microtubule Tissue Laboratory, Ricardo Viais, and his leader Jens Lüders, have determined that the protein complex augmin is a key element of stem cell division during embryonic brain development

In the developing brain of a mouse embryo, when the augmin complex is inactivated, brain development stops, and the embryo dies before birth

By deleting the p53 gene, cell death caused by the loss of augmin can be prevented

"Our research may have a profound effect on the proliferation of stem cells during brain development, because cell division is also crucial for cancer cell proliferation, colonization in tissues, and tumor formation

Augmin deficiency in neural stem cells causes p53-dependent apoptosis and aborts brain development