An Unexpected Calm: Mfge8 Controls Stem Cell Quiescence and Maintenance.

Radial glia-like neural stem cells (RGLs) in the mouse hippocampus generate neurons throughout life, but RGL maintenance mechanisms remain unclear. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Zhou et al. (2018) identified Mfge8, a well-known mediator of the "eat-me'' signal, as a factor that reinforces quiescence and protects the RGL niche from depletion.