Open AccessBrain mesenchymal stem cells: The other stem cells of the brain?
Author(s) -
Florence Appaix,
Marie-France Nissou,
Boudewijn van der Sanden,
Matthieu Dreyfus,
François Berger,
Jean-Paul Issartel,
Didier Wion
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
world journal of stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.907
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 1948-0210
DOI - 10.4252/wjsc.v6.i2.134
Subject(s) - mesenchymal stem cell , stem cell , clinical uses of mesenchymal stem cells , biology , progenitor cell , neural stem cell , cancer stem cell , stem cell transplantation for articular cartilage repair , microbiology and biotechnology , neurosphere , pericyte , adult stem cell , regenerative medicine , neuroscience , population , multipotent stem cell , endothelial stem cell , pathology , medicine , biochemistry , environmental health , in vitro
Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), have the potential to differentiate into cells of the mesenchymal lineage and have non-progenitor functions including immunomodulation. The demonstration that MSCs are perivascular cells found in almost all adult tissues raises fascinating perspectives on their role in tissue maintenance and repair. However, some controversies about the physiological role of the perivascular MSCs residing outside the bone marrow and on their therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine exist. In brain, perivascular MSCs like pericytes and adventitial cells, could constitute another stem cell population distinct to the neural stem cell pool. The demonstration of the neuronal potential of MSCs requires stringent criteria including morphological changes, the demonstration of neural biomarkers expression, electrophysiological recordings, and the absence of cell fusion. The recent finding that brain cancer stem cells can transdifferentiate into pericytes is another facet of the plasticity of these cells. It suggests that the perversion of the stem cell potential of pericytes might play an even unsuspected role in cancer formation and tumor progression.