Generalized potential of adult neural stem cells.
The differentiation potential of stem cells in tissues of the adult has been thought to be limited to cell lineages present in the organ from which they were derived, but there is evidence that some stem cells may have a broader differentiation repertoire. We show here that neural stem cells from the adult mouse brain can contribute to the formation of chimeric chick and mouse embryos and give rise to cells of all germ layers. This demonstrates that an adult neural stem cell has a very broad developmental capacity and may potentially be used to generate a variety of cell types for transplantation in different diseases.
Clarke
D L
DL
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Medical Nobel Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Johansson
C B
CB
Wilbertz
J
J
Veress
B
B
Nilsson
E
E
Karlström
H
H
Lendahl
U
U
Frisén
J
J
D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology*; D002449:Cell Aggregation; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D004475:Ectoderm / Q000166:cytology; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D004707:Endoderm / Q000166:cytology; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D008845:Microinjections; D009028:Morula / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D009132:Muscles / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D018183:Transplantation Chimera