Open AccessIntegrins Are Markers of Human Neural Stem Cells
Author(s) -
Hall Peter E.,
Lathia Justin D.,
Miller Nigel G. A.,
Caldwell Maeve A.,
FfrenchConstant Charles
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1634/stemcells.2005-0595
Subject(s) - biology , neurosphere , sox2 , neural stem cell , nestin , cell sorting , integrin , microbiology and biotechnology , stem cell , population , stem cell marker , cd44 , cellular differentiation , cell , embryonic stem cell , genetics , adult stem cell , gene , flow cytometry , demography , sociology
The identification of markers for the isolation of human neural stem cells (hNSCs) is essential for studies of their biology and therapeutic applications. This study investigated expression of the integrin receptor family by hNSCs as potential markers. Selection of α6 hi or β1 hi cells by fluorescence‐activated cell sorting led to an enrichment of human neural precursors, as shown by both neurosphere forming assays and increased expression of prominin‐1, sox2, sox3, nestin, bmi1, and musashi1 in the β1 hi population. Cells expressing high levels of β1 integrin also expressed prominin‐1 (CD133), a marker previously used to isolate hNSCs, and selection using integrin β1 hi cells or prominin‐1 hi cells was found to be equally effective at enriching for hNSCs from neurospheres. Therefore, integrin subunits α6 and β1 are highly expressed by human neural precursors and represent convenient markers for their prospective isolation.