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Adult human spinal cord harbors neural precursor cells that generate neurons and glial cells in vitro
Author(s) -
Dromard C.,
Guillon H.,
Rigau V.,
Ripoll C.,
Sabourin J.C.,
Perrin F.E.,
Scamps F.,
Bozza S.,
Sabatier P.,
Lonjon N.,
Duffau H.,
VachieryLahaye F.,
Prieto M.,
Tran Van Ba C.,
Deleyrolle L.,
Boularan A.,
Langley K.,
Gaviria M.,
Privat A.,
Hugnot J.P.,
Bauchet L.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/jnr.21646
Subject(s) - neural stem cell , subventricular zone , nestin , sox2 , spinal cord , ependymal cell , neurosphere , progenitor cell , biology , rostral migratory stream , neuroepithelial cell , stem cell , adult stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , precursor cell , neuroscience , in vitro , embryonic stem cell , endothelial stem cell , biochemistry , gene
Adult human and rodent brains contain neural stem and progenitor cells, and the presence of neural stem cells in the adult rodent spinal cord has also been described. Here, using electron microscopy, expression of neural precursor cell markers, and cell culture, we investigated whether neural precursor cells are also present in adult human spinal cord. In well‐preserved nonpathological post‐mortem human adult spinal cord, nestin, Sox2, GFAP, CD15, Nkx6.1, and PSA‐NCAM were found to be expressed heterogeneously by cells located around the central canal. Ultrastructural analysis revealed the existence of immature cells close to the ependymal cells, which display characteristics of type B and C cells found in the adult rodent brain subventricular region, which are considered to be stem and progenitor cells, respectively. Completely dissociated spinal cord cells reproducibly formed Sox2 + nestin + neurospheres containing proliferative precursor cells. On differentiation, these generate glial cells and γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)‐ergic neurons. These results provide the first evidence for the existence in the adult human spinal cord of neural precursors with the potential to differentiate into neurons and glia. They represent a major interest for endogenous regeneration of spinal cord after trauma and in degenerative diseases. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.