Adult neural stem cells mediate hippocampal synapse elimination for circuit homeostasis through MERTK

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 123, Number 2, January 2026.
SignificanceAdult neural stem cells (NSCs) play important roles in the brain that extend beyond their function as a progenitor pool. Our study showed that mice in which adult NSCs lack the phagocytic receptor MERTK exhibit a reduced ability to…